7 Pieces
by Maximillian Havisham
Summary: 7 Girls. 7 reasons to fall in love. 7 stories to be told. 7 pieces of a heart. 7 Cards to be shuffled. All of them converging on just one point. NatsuXHarem. I don't Own Fairy Tail or it's characters. Its all belongs to Kodansha and Hiro Mashima.
1. Prologue: Just Another Morning

Inside a slightly worn down bungalow on the outskirts of Magnolia, just before the entrance to East Forest, the sun was making its presence felt in the eyes of a pink-haired young man. He groaned, tossing and turning in his bed as he tried his best to ignore the transparent rays bleeding in through the wooden blinds, but to his annoyance they followed him. Realizing his persistence was for naught he slowly opened his eyes. Even more slowly he rose upright to a sitting position. He yawned as he scratched the back of his head.

"Ok, I'm up." he groaned to no one. Feeling a weight on his lap he looked down and saw a slender arm. His eyes following the length of the arm, he found two women lying near the edge of the right side of his bed. The one closest to him had long red hair that shone vibrantly in the filtered sun rays; it was to her that the arm belonged. Her shoulders were bare, the bed blanket covering the rest of her form. Although the pinkette knew that she was most likely bare under there as well. Next to the redhead was a blonde who slept with her back to him. Unlike the red head she was sleeping on top of the blanket, her unmentionables covered by blue and white lingerie.

A low moan came from his left and he turned his head to see two more girls sleeping on the left side of his bed. Both of them had white hair, although the hair of the girl closest two him was much longer. Unlike the previous two women, these white haired maidens were nuzzled into one another; the short haired girl's head resting on the chest of her long haired sister. He smiled at them briefly before exiting the right of his bed, being careful not to rouse the blonde and the redhead from their slumber.

He stepped onto the wooden floor, making his way to the bedroom door before his foot grazed against something soft. Again hearing low moan he looked down to see another girl. This one had long, slightly wavy, brown hair. Her tired head rested on the left side of a long pillow. A blanket covered her legs, but only to the middle of her calf, the rest of her golden tan skin exposed to the air of the room. The only cover for her upper body being a dark blue bikini top.

The pink-haired teen looked down, noticing that his foot was against her leg. He moved it away, hearing another moan, this one more sad than irritated.

He smiled at her frustration. "Sorry." His eyes trailed over to the next of her, where he saw a girl with dark blue hair sharing the other side of the long pillow. Unlike her companion there was a wide smile on her face as she mumbled to herself.

"Natsu…stop…everyone's watching." She continued muttering unintelligibly to herself and soon her ramblings quietly quelled, although her dreamy smile was still present as her cheeks grew redder.

Natsu stepped past them and opened the door to the bedroom, taking one last look at the ladies inside before stepping into the foyer. The house had certainly become bigger since he and Happy had first built it, their proudest addition being the bigger kitchen area. He used to sleep on a hammock in the common area of the house, but when _she_ arrived he had to build a bedroom. Then the next one arrived and with her came a small increase in the home's size. With each new arrival came more building, but he didn't mind. He considered the added construction an extra form of training. He also didn't mind the extra company that had been brought to him over the past couple of months. While he was still curious as to why they chose to stick so close to him, he wasn't in the right state of mind to question it.

The dragon slayer walked outside, the warming breeze caressing his face as he breathed in the even more of nature's warm morning air. The low trees in the distance provided the perfect window for the rising sun. Natsu breathed in deeply, exhaling a low stream of fire courtesy of his Dragon Slayer magic. He stretched his arms over his head, the last remnants of sleeping melting away when he heard a voice call to him.

"You're up late."

Natsu looked over to the left tree line and saw a smiling blue haired girl walking towards him, a flying blue cat at her side. She was holding two bags at her sides, her slumped shoulders indicating that both bags were rather heavy. The cat was only holding one bag as he floated next to her.

Natsu met them halfway before they reached the doorway. "I was wondering where you were, Levy."

"Happy and I went to get groceries." Levy said. Although her breathing was slightly labored due to her load, she managed to smile softly. "I was going to ask if you wanted to go, but you wouldn't wake up."

"Yeah, sorry about that." Natsu smiled wide. "I was having this really cool dream."

Levy's interest level rose to mildly curious. "What was it about?"

"It was about..." Natsu's eyes widened as he looked up and down as well as side to side. "Wait." He was trying hard to remember his dream. He shut his eyes hard, trying to force the memories to the surface.

"Don't hurt yourself." Happy commented, seeing how much the Dragon Slayer was straining.

Still drawing a blank, Natsu opened his eyes. "I can't remember." He laughed.

Levy laughed with him, before the weight of the bags reminded her of her sore arm muscles. "We should hurry and get these bags in the house before our arms fall off, Happy." She smiled at the Exceed.

"Aye." Happy nodded. He tried to look strong but the weight of the bag slowly made him descend to the ground.

Before Levy could continue her route, Natsu stopped her. "Here, let me." He took the bags from her and Happy, cradling them as best he could.

Levy blushed at their brief contact as she watched Natsu. "Thank you."

"No problem, we should probably hurry up inside before the others wake up though."

"Good point." Levy smiled.

"Natsuuuu!" a loud, but lazy, moan echoed from the house.

Happy floated down to the ground and let his wings fade away. "Cana's awake."

Natsu sighed. His exasperated posture caused the contents of the three bags to jostle. "Yeah I know. She can be a real pain in the morning."

"I guess we don't need to rush then." Levy commented.

"Guess not." Natsu smiled.

Natsu, Levy, and Happy walked towards the house. Levy making sure not to stray too far from the pink-haired dragon slayer. The three entered the house, not at all surprised to see a half awake Cana sitting at the dining table. Her brown haired was tossed, rather sultrily, over the left side of her head. Natsu powered through his arousal and set the bags in the kitchen, Levy close behind him. Happy floated to the dining table.

"Forgot your pants again?" he asked Cana.

Cana looked down at her bare legs. "I thought it was a bit cold in here."

"Where are the others?" Levy asked, looking back at the pair.

"Still sleeping."

"Man, you guys are lazy." Natsu smirked.

"Not everyone is up at sunrise like you two. So where were you anyway? Did you guys sneak a quickie before the rest of us woke up?" a mischevious smirk crept onto the fortuneteller's lips. "I didn't know you were so bold, Levy."

Levy's face flushed red as she quickly turned around. "That's not what happened at all!" she squealed. "Natsu was just outside when Happy and I returned from the market."

Cana continued her teasing. "There's no need to lie, Levy. I would have done the same thing."

Levy let out another loud denial. "I'm not lying!"

Cana laughed at girl's embarrassed reaction while Natsu sighed. Soon a voice came from the bedroom.

"It is far too early to be this noisy."

The four looked over to see the rest of their companions emerging from the room, Erza leading the slow charge. Unlike Cana they were fully clothed in pajamas, or in Mirajane's and Juvia's case, a night gown.

"Good morning, everyone." Lisanna smiled as she sat on the couch, Erza sitting next to her.

Mirajane went to the kitchen, she and Natsu exchanging warm smiles as he side stepped to allow her space to get by.

"Good morning, my love!" Juvia greeted happily as she grabbed Natsu from behind before he could sit down at the table, burying her face in his bare back. He used to be startled by this sudden action, but like everything else in his life it slowly became routine.

"Morning, Juvia." the dragon slayer smiled. The rain woman's heart leapt in her chest.

Lucy took her seat next to Cana at the table. "I could have helped you with the shopping, Levy." she said.

Levy smiled in reply. "Don't worry about it, Lu. I didn't want to make you lose sleep."

"She wouldn't be able to wake you because of your snoring anyway." Happy chuckled.

"Quiet, cat. I don't snore!" Lucy defended. She then looked over to Erza, covering her mouth as she whispered to the red head. "I don't, do I?"

Erza took a sip of her morning cup of tea that she received from Mirajane. "No, but you do have the tendency to talk every now and again."

Lucy's face grew red from embarrassment.

"Did everyone sleep well?" Lisanna asked the group.

Every nodded, each voicing their various yes answers to the question.

"Like a baby." Cana answered as she stretched her arms over her head.

"Cana put on some pants." Erza said not looking at her as she took another sip of tea.

"Oh, lighten up, Erza." Cana then looked over to Natsu, her gaze giving off the not so subtle hints of lust. "Besides, Natsu doesn't mind."

"Hm?" Natsu looked up at her. He made it to the table, taking the seat next to Levy. Juvia was still behind him, her hands having moved from his abdomen to being wrapped around his neck. The rain woman glared at the brunette, who seemed to welcome to the challenge.

"He may not mind, but I certainly do." Erza continued. "It's unbecoming to be half naked so early in the day."

"Says the requip wizard."

"Calm down, you two." Lisanna said with a nervous smile. "There's no need to fight so early in the day, is there?"

"We aren't fighting, Lisanna." Erza corrected. "We're just having a discussion."

Cana stood up, her chair sliding back a small way. "Fine. If it'll make 'Saint Erza' happy, I'll put on some pants."

"That's all I ask."

"Yeah. Yeah." Cana trudged towards the bedroom. Her mouth hidden by her teacup, Erza wore a satisfied grin on her lips. She was most proud of her small victory. She then turned her attention to Natsu. "You should really be more assertive." she said to him.

"Why?" he asked.

"This is your house, Natsu, you can't just let anyone do whatever they want whenever they please."

Natsu tilted his head in confusion, Juvia's head also following him. "But I thought this was our house."

Erza blushed slightly at the statement. "Well, be that as it may, be more careful in the future."

"Um, ok. I will." Natsu had no idea what Erza was talking about, but he decided to end the topic quickly by giving the answer he thought would appease her the most.

Mirajane emerged from the kitchen with various plates or different foods in her hand. She walked around, handing a plate to Natsu and the rest of the girls. Cana received her plate as she walked out of the bedroom. Breakfast for all was served.

"Thanks, Mira." Natsu smiled.

She retruned it with her own. "You're quite welcome, Natsu." she then looked up at the clock on the wall and her eyes widened. "Oh my, look at the time. I have to hurry and open the guild hall."

Mirajane rushed back into the bedroom, emerging a few seconds later in her trademark red dress.

"Do you really have to leave now?" Lisanna asked, slightly saddened that her sister wouldn't be eating breakfast with the rest of them.

"Sorry but if I don't hurry, Master will be angry. I'll see you all at the guild hall later." Before she departed she walked over to Natsu and kissed him on the cheek, much to Juvia's ire. "Bye." she said with a wink. With that she exited the house and made her way into town.

"So what are we going to do today?" Lucy asked the others.

Soon Natsu was drowned in the discussion between the girls and Happy about the day. He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes thinking back to how things ended up this way before Lisanna called to him. Noticing his seemingly sour facial features.

"Natsu?"

He opened his eyes, and tilted his head back down, seeing all of the girls – minus Mirajane - looking at him with concern.

"Are you ok?" Lisanna asked.

"Did you catch something outside?" Levy asked next.

After her was Lucy. "Are you still tired?"

Then Cana. "Maybe you should go back to sleep."

Then Juvia, who had a hint of pep in her voice. "I'll stay and take care of you for as long as you need."

Last was Erza. "What's wrong?"

He took glances at all of them, slightly caught off guard by how quick they were to take care of him. It was something he had grown to liking about all of them. He admired all of seven of them in different ways, but he didn't prefer one girl over the other. While all of them were beautiful, he liked them for their traits as people. Levy's innocence and teasing, Erza's strength and stubbornness that rivaled his own, Lucy's optimism, Cana's blunt nature, Lisanna's kindness, Mirajane's sense of responsibility, and even Juvia's often dangerous sense of dedication. Each girl had endeared themselves to the Dragon Slayer in one form or another, and he had done so with them as well. As the girls continued to look at him, Natsu smiled wide, putting to rest their worries as they returned his smile with their own.

"It's nothing. I'm fine." He said, his toothy grin still on lips as he resumed his meal.

...

* * *

_**Happy Valentines Day again! As promised, here is my new project, a harem story. I know it's been done to death but I wanted to throw my hat in the ring and see just how I would be able to handle it. For now I'll only be focusing on these 7 girls, but who knows if I'll add more later?**_

_**One more thing, this story will all be decided by you guys! You get to pick the harem in order of who joins. I will poll the reviews in about a week or so and begin the first chapter based on who you guys want to see join Natsu first! Hopefully that is exciting as it sounds. The story won't really have much of a set schedule but it will be updated whenever I can, I promise.**_

_**Addendum: I expedited the process, don't know why I didn't think of this sooner. anyway. If you want to vote on whose story gets told first, vote for it on the poll on my profile page. :) **_

_**So hopefully you guys will join in and let me know your thoughts, Thanks for reading. :)**_


	2. Strength of Heart I

**The votes are in and the first girl up...is Erza! Let's finally get this thing started. (Sorry for the wait)**

* * *

Magic is an ever-changing, ever-evolving force. For every new spell discovered, there are just as many left to be rediscovered by its practitioners. Lost to the ravages of time for one reason or another. All magic is connected in one form or another. This theory is known as the One Magic. Whether one style of magic repels or attracts another is wholly dependent on its users.

In the records of olden magic, there is mention of the Arcana. Magical forces that have been linked to individuals throughout history, represented both in their personalities and their actions. Dragon Slayer magic, Re-quip magic, water magic, celestial spirit magic, script magic, card magic, and even takeover magic. Each of these are linked in one form or another, leading to highly volatile, or even highly meaningful reactions and interactions between their users.

The rarest of the known Arcana is the wild card, otherwise known as the joker or the fool. Within it houses an infinite number of possibilities. It is a manifestation of madness, but also creativity. Innocence, but also of chaos. Spontaneity, but also inexperience. Divine inspiration, as well as freedom. The fool sets events in motion, but it also ends them. It draws all other Arcana to it. Whether these forces drawn are chaos or order is up to the Joker themselves.

* * *

Natsu trudged into the guild hall, completely drained of his usual boisterous energy. He absentmindedly looked around the guild hall, half-heartedly wondering what his friends were up to. Juvia was once again clinging to a disapproving Gray, Cana was headlong into what he assumed was her third barrel of booze, Lisanna chatted casually with Elfman and the Thunder Legion, minus Laxus, and Levy was focused on her latest book while Jet and Droy continued their usual bickering over who liked her more. To his mild surprise Gajeel wasn't with them. He yawned loudly. Once again nothing exciting was going on. Just another normal. This had been happening a lot lately. Sure Natsu would go on jobs with his team, but it was never nothing exciting. He craved excitement, but for now he would settle with just a good night's sleep. He walked to the bar and sat on the stool, lying his weary head on the bar top.

"Oh my, someone's exhausted."

Natsu turned his head to the side, seeing a smiling Mirajane looking down at him from the other side of the bar.

"Morning, Mira." He yawned.

"Long night?" she inquired with a titter.

Natsu sat up lethargically, propping his weary arms on the bar to support his ever drooping head. "I guess you could say that. I stayed up training last night."

"Again?"

Natsu nodded.

"That has to be the third night this week. Are you feeling sick?"

"I don't know. Maybe." Natsu replied as he stretched his arms overhead. "Happy thinks I just have too much on my brain."

Mirajane giggled. "That would be a first."

"Shut up." Natsu retorted in irritation.

Mirajane puffed out her cheeks in a faux pout. "Don't be rude."

"Where are Lucy and Erza?"

"Lucy is over there with Wendy and Carla." Mirajane pointed to a table near the front of the stage. Sure enough Lucy, Wendy, and Carla were all talking amongst themselves about something or other. "Erza is currently on a job, but she should be back in a little while."

"Guess I'll go wait with Lucy and Wendy then." Natsu stepped off of the stool and began walking off. "Talk to ya later, Mira." He waved.

"Talk to you soon." Mirajane waved back, a soft smile on her lips.

Natsu made his way over to Wendy and Lucy, his disposition not changing all that much. Once reaching the table he greeted them and took a seat next to Lucy, his posture slacking enough to show his exhaustion.

"You look terrible." Lucy commented.

"Thanks." Natsu replied sarcastically.

"Are you ok?" Wendy asked.

"You look as if you haven't gotten a good night's rest in days." Carla observed.

"That's probably because I haven't." Natsu replied.

"Something on your mind?" Lucy wondered.

Natsu shook his head. "Not really. At least I don't think there is. It's just every time I try to sleep I get this throbbing pain in my head that keeps me up."

"So what do you do all night?" Wendy inquired.

"Train mostly."

Lucy and Wendy sweatdropped. "Did we even need to ask?" Lucy said.

"Maybe you hit your head." Carla suggested. "With you that's not too far of an assumption."

Natsu glared at the white cat, but she shrugged him off. "I didn't bump my head." He protested. "I probably just need to slow down a bit with things."

Lucy and Wendy blinked rapidly. The blonde then placed a hand on Natsu's forehead. She placed her free hand on her own forehead.

"What are you doing?" Natsu asked.

"Checking your temperature. You're obviously coming down with something."

The longer Natsu looked at Lucy, the more his vision blurred. It was faint, but he could have sworn he saw a faint gold glow around her.

"Natsu?" Lucy called.

The dragon slayer quickly swiped her hand away. "I-I'm fine." He said.

"Are you blushing?" Lucy teased.

"I'm not." Natsu looked away, shaking the red from his cheeks.

"There is definitely something wrong with you." Lucy remarked.

Natsu ignored her concerns and stared towards the door way. It a curious feeling, but somehow he knew Erza would be walking in right about…

"I have returned." Erza announced as she walked through the door of the guild hall.

"That was weird." Natsu said aloud.

"What was?" Wendy questioned.

Natsu looked down to her. "Oh, nothing. Just talking to myself."

"No doubt due to your head trauma." Carla commented.

"I don't have head trauma!" Natsu loudly argued.

"Natsu, quiet down!" The redhead scolded. The dragon slayer frightfully complied.

"Welcome back, Erza." Mirajane smiled. "How was the job?"

"Fairly standard all things considered." Erza reported. "I would have come back yesterday but the townspeople insisted I stay and attend a party in my honor. Honestly, getting rid of a few measly bandits is nothing to be getting excited over." She huffed. She sat down at the bar, placing a strange box on the counter.

Mirajane looked over to the rectangular object. It was of considerable size, big enough to where Erza had to carry it with both hands. It was also very well crafted. The box itself was a deep purple, etched with gold and silver markings that flowed beautifully into one another. "What is that?" she asked. Her famous curiosity oozing out.

"Hm?" Erza looked over to the box and let out another unsatisfied sigh. "A gift from the villagers. I told them it was unnecessary but they insisted I take it. I have no idea what to do with it."

"You could put jewelry in it." Mirajane suggested.

"If I had any." Erza replied.

"Well, I'm sure you'll think of something." Mirajane smiled. "Would you like a piece of cake to lighten your mood?"

"I would." Erza smiled.

"One piece of strawberry cheesecake coming up." Mirajane giggled before retreating to the kitchen.

Natsu looked to the bar as Mirajane and Erza resumed their exchange after the barmaid brought the knight her strawberry cake. However it was not the women he was watching. His eyes were focused on the mysterious box that Erza had returned with. Through no reasoning of his own, he felt that something within it was calling to him.

_Come._ The voice said. _Seek the truth beyond the veil._

The words were the same ones that Natsu had heard in his dreams. The ones that kept him up at night. Unable to bear the pain in his head, he stood up. His dead eyes startling both Wendy and Lucy.

"Natsu?" Wendy called to him.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Lucy asked. She reached for his vest, but he pulled away and continued walking forward. "Hey!"

Natsu drew closer to the bar. The voice in his head growing louder, and drowning out all of the sounds of his friends around him. He was soon at his destination, his eyes never leaving the box.

"Is there anything in the box?" Mirajane asked.

"I have no idea." Erza answered. "Every time I tried to open it, it wouldn't budge. Not even when I used my Purgatory armor."

Mirajane sweatdropped. "I'm surprised you didn't break to pieces." Mirajane looked over to the box, noticing that Natsu was now in front of it. "Are you going to try and open it? Be careful, according to Erza it's quite the opponent." Mirajane teased. Her smile soon faded to worry when she noticed the hollow look in the dragon slayer's eyes. "Natsu? Is something the matter?"

Erza noticed his gaze as well. "Natsu, what's wrong with you?"

He didn't answer either of them as he reached for the box. He placed his hand on the top, and to the shock of both Erza and Mirajane the box began to open. A pale blue light shined from the crack before the box flung open, an unknown force sending Natsu flying back towards the guild entrance. The crash startled everyone in the hall.

"Natsu!" Erza shouted.

"Oh no!" Mirajane gasped.

Both of them rushed to his side.

* * *

"Ow. What the hell was that?" Natsu groaned, rubbing the top of his head. He opened his eyes, seeing nothing but a lone pathway in front of him. He stood up, looking around for anything that seemed familiar. Instead he saw nothing but a thick fog. "Where am I?" He looked down at the path before him. "Where does this go? Well only one way to find out." He began walking, the dense fog making it hard for him to see. "Hey!" He called into the air. "Anybody here?!" No answer. "Happy?! Lucy?! Erza?!" once again no answer, he was starting to get frustrated. "Gray, if this is you messing with me I'm going to kick your ass! Geez, how long is this path?" Natsu kept walking until he reached a black door. "A door? Someone lives in this fog?" he reached out and turned the door knob, the door opening to what looked like to be a hotel room. Inside the room was an elderly woman.

She faced the window of the room, smoke billowing from what Natsu assumed was a pipe in her hand. "Don't just stand there. Either come in or leave. You're letting in a draft." She sniped.

"Oh, sorry." Natsu apologized and quickly stepped in the room and closed the door behind him.

"That's better. Now take a seat."

"Um, ok." Seeing no other option, Natsu chose to sit on the bed opposite the old woman.

"Damn kids." She griped. "They never know how to pick up after themselves. Do they think this is their personal closet?"

Natsu looked out the window to see what the old woman was talking about. To his confusion, he saw nothing but darkness outside. _What is with this lady? She's probably senile or something._

"Watch who you call senile, boy. I'm still had enough mind to show you a thing or two." The old woman said without looking at him.

Natsu quickly covered his mouth. _Did I say that out loud?_

"Bah. They'll learn one of these days." The elderly woman faced Natsu. Her hair was the color of ash, her green eyes staring pensively at the dragon slayer as smoke continued to flow out from her long pipe. Natsu was beginning to grow even more uncomfortable by the woman's silence. After what felt like forever, she spoke. "So, you're the fool?"

"What?" Natsu had just met this woman, but he could tell from the insult she just lobbed that he wasn't going to like her.

"You're not that bad looking. I've seen worse."

"Look, old lady-"

"Silence!" she hit him on the head with her pipe. "Didn't your parents ever tell you to respect your elders?"

Natsu rubbed his sore head for the second time that day. "Ow. Sorry."

"That's better. Now like I was saying before you opened your yap, you're the fool."

"I'm not stupid." Natsu protested.

"That's debatable, but I don't mean intelligence. I mean you're the wild card. The joker."

Natsu tilted his head in confusion.

The old woman sighed. She held her hand palm up, producing a small card with a picture on it. It looked like a jester being followed by a dog. "The joker. The beginning and the end of the arcana."

"Arcana?"

"Don't they teach you kids anything anymore? The arcana is the central theme of the tarot. It is an ancient form of magic that originates from the one magic."

"Oh, I've heard of that!" Natsu piped up. "That's the origin of all magic right?"

"Now you're getting it." The old woman smiled. She made the card vanish. "In the tarot, the fool is connected to all the other arcana. That's why it's the number 0. It can either be empty, or be infinitesimally filled. However this doesn't mean that your particular magic is the one magic. Understand?"

"Not…really."

The old woman sighed. "What type of magic do you use, boy?"

"Me?" Natsu pointed to himself. "I use dragon slayer magic."

The old woman raised her eyebrow, her interest was now piqued. "Well won't this be a fun little experiment? Listen up. As the fool, it is your job to connect the other arcana by the use of your magic and winning personality. Those headaches you've been getting, that was your arcana talking to you, begging to be let out."

"What does that mean?"

"It means, if you find and gather the other arcana. Your magic will increase to unimaginable levels."

Natsu's eyes brightened. "Really?"

The old woman nodded. "However you can't just gather them all willy-nilly. They have to be willing to bond with you, otherwise your magic will become tainted."

"Tainted?"

"Is there an echo in here? Look, all you need to know is patience good, impatience bad. Understand?"

"Yes?" Natsu nodded.

"Of course you do." The woman sarcastically remarked. "Whether you listen to what I say or not, either way you'll find out soon."

_Natsu!_ He heard Erza's voice calling to him.

_Is he ok?_ Next was Wendy's worried tone.

"Looks like our time's up." The old woman said. "You should be heading back…what's your name?"

"Natsu. Natsu Dragneel."

"Well then I'll be seeing you later, Natsu."

The room began to fade to white, slowly drowning out the elderly woman from Natsu's view. The voices of his friends grew louder. "Wait!" Natsu called to the old woman. "Why was I picked for this?"

"Who knows, kid? Sometimes things like this just happen."

"What's your name?!" Natsu yelled as the light grew more intense.

"That's not important. You just get on back and do what I told ya. Remember! Patience is a virtue." The old woman smiled wide at Natsu. "Go get'em, Casanova."

"Casanova? What's that supposed to mean?!" In a bright flash both the old woman and the room were gone.

* * *

Natsu's eyes shot open, startling those gathered around him.

"You're finally awake." Erza sighed in relief.

"We were worried." Mirajane added.

Natsu craned his head up, looking at his friends. Circled around him were Erza, Mirajane, Lucy, Wendy, Carla, Lisanna, Gray, and Juvia. "I'm back." He said.

"Back from where?" Lucy asked. "You've been here the entire time."

Natsu rose up, the others giving him space to breathe. He rubbed the back of his head, it was still sore from his collision from the stairs.

"You shouldn't move so much." Lisanna urged softly. "Wendy wasn't able to fully heal you."

"There was something blocking me." The young dragon slayer revealed. "I felt a weird presence."

"Was it that old woman?" Natsu mumbled.

"Speak up." Erza demanded. "We can't know what's wrong if you mumble."

"I was in this really weird place, full of fog." Natsu explained.

"Fog?" Wendy looked to the elder members of the group. They all looked to Juvia.

"I don't cause fog." The rain woman reminded. "Only rain."

"Besides, it's been sunny all day anyway." Gray spoke up.

"Ok, then where was this foggy place?" Lucy prompted of Natsu.

"I don't know, but I know it wasn't in Magnolia. Probably wasn't even Fiore. I was walking on this path and ended up in this hotel room with an old lady."

"Old lady?" Lucy repeated.

"Your grandmother perhaps?" Erza suggested.

"I don't have one of those." Natsu shook his head.

"Of course you do, you idiot." Gray argued. "You wouldn't be here if you didn't."

"I only have Igneel." Natsu retorted.

"Igneel was a boy dragon. They don't give birth, and even if they did it wouldn't be to a human."

"You don't know that."

The two pressed their foreheads together, daring the other to throw the first punch before they were forcibly separated by Erza. "That's enough, Gray. Let's go, everyone." Erza shooed everyone out of the infirmary. "Natsu needs his rest."

When his friends were gone, Natsu laid back on his infirmary bed. _Was that all just a dream? I mean it does sound pretty out there._ He heard the old woman's words in his head. _"It's your job to gather the arcana together…go get'em, Casanova!"_ Natsu turned over. "What the hell did that mean?"

A few hours later he exited the infirmary, stretching his arms over his head.

"You look better." Mirajane said with relief.

"Yeah. I was finally able to get some rest, but I'm still a bit tired so I'm going to head on home. I'll see you guys tomorrow." He waved.

"Be careful." Mirajane called.

"Is he really ok?" Wendy asked Lucy.

"It's not like Natsu to hide something." The blonde replied. "If he said he's fine then he must be fine."

"Yeah, Natsu's not smart enough to lie about something like that." Gray remarked.

"Must you always make fun of him?"

"Can't help it. We've been doing it since we were kids. Old habits die hard." Gray shrugged.

"You two really need to grow up." Lucy sighed.

* * *

Natsu laid in his hammock, looking up at the ceiling above. Happy was gone for the night for it was Lisanna's turn to keep him. He always wondered why he agreed to such an arrangement, but he saw no real harm in it. Happy was fine with it, and she did have a hand in helping hatch him. Lost in thoughts, Natsu nearly fell out of his hammock at the sound of a loud knock at his door. "Who the hell is that at this hour?" the knock came again. "Hold on, I'm coming. This better good whoever you-"Natsu was frightened into silence when he opened the door. It was Erza.

"Good evening, Natsu." She greeted. He couldn't exactly see in the low light, but he could have sworn she was blushing. "May I come in?"

Natsu shook the thoughts from his head. "Oh, yeah." He stepped aside to let her through, slowly closing the door.

"Your home is much messier than I thought." She commented.

Natsu sweatdropped. _Is that really the first thing she says when coming in someone else's house?_

"I don't want to be rude but, why are you here, Erza?"

The knight turned around, and Natsu's earlier assumption was proved correct. She **was** blushing. Erza quickly bowed, startling Natsu. "I came to apologize for my carelessness!" she shouted.

"What are you talking about?"

"The box was my responsibility and I failed to watch it. Because of that you were hurt, and I'm sorry. Please strike me for my screw up!"

"N-no, it's fine. Really." Natsu denied, fearing just what she would do to him if obliged her request. "You didn't know that was going to happen. It was my fault."

"Even so." Erza said. "I still feel responsible. Let me do something to atone. Oh I know just what to do." She requipped into her nurse outfit. "Allow me to treat your injuries."

"I said it was fine." Natsu said, trying his best not to look at Erza's alluring form. She really filled out the uniform nicely...then again she filled out anything she wore. Natsu shook the impure thoughts from his head and walked backwards, failing to notice a rubber ball behind him on the floor. He stepped on it, losing his balance and falling backwards.

"Natsu!" Erza reached out to him, but fell along with him when she grabbed his waistband. They both hit the ground with a hard thud. Erza was the first to rise, rubbing her throbbing head. "Natsu, are you ok?" She looked down, shocked to see that the dragon slayer under her was knocked out, his eyes spirals. "Oh no! Natsu!"

* * *

Natsu came to sometime later. To his surprise he was back in his hammock. "Was that a dream?" he sat up, nearly jumping out his skin when he saw Erza sitting next to him. "Er-Erza?!"

"You must be more careful, Natsu." she sighed. "You're always so clumsy."

"It was your fault I tripped!" Natsu accused.

"Nonetheless, I will treat your injuries." Erza pulled out a roll of gauze from a medical bag she had summoned while Natsu was unconscious. Natsu reached up to his head, noticing that it was wrapped. The gauze was still warm.

"I said you didn't have to." Natsu reminded a bit forcefully, trying to hide his embarrassment.

"I know, but I want to." she demanded...softly.

Natsu blushed slightly at Erza's tonal shift. _Was she always this gentle? She's usually so damn scary. Why is she doing all of this anyway? Not like I can't take care of myself._ He looked to her again, his heart beating faster. She gently wrapped the gauze around his arm, a soft smile on her face. She looked as if she genuinely enjoyed what she was doing. Their eyes met for a brief moment, but just as quickly they turned away from one another.

"I-Is something wrong? Are you still in pain?" Erza asked, trying to ignore the pounding in her chest.

Natsu shook his head. "N-nope. I'm just fine." Thanks to his enhanced hearing he could hear both of their heartbeats. They were both racing. _What the hell is going on?_

"I've...never done something like this before." Erza spoke up.

"What do you mean?" Natsu inquired. "Done what?"

"Taken care of someone...by myself. I've also never been inside a man's..." she blushed harder. "home before."

Now it was Natsu's turn to blush harder. "Well, I've never had a girl over either..."

Erza looked up at him with surprise. "Really? I was certain you would have had either Lucy or Lisanna over at least once."

"What kind of guy do you think I am?" Natsu asked in offense. "I'm not some kind of pervert who invites girls over all the time. I'm not Loke or those creepy Blue Pegasus dudes."

Erza smiled warmly at his protests. "I sometimes forget how innocent you are."

"You don't have to make fun of me." Natsu pouted.

"I'm not." Erza's shook her head as her smile grew. "I'm just stating an observation. Innocence can be an admirable quality."

Natsu's expression softened and he looked down towards. He slowly began to raise his eyebrow. "Um…Erza?"

"Yes? What is it?" The redhead looked down. In her embarrassment and conversation, she lost track of what she was doing, having wrapped her own arm in gauze along with Natsu's. "How embarrassing." She grumbled. She began to unwrap the gauze, muttering insults at herself for her lack of focus.

Natsu felt his heartbeat calm as he laughed at Erza's mistake, suddenly the pain he experienced every night returned, this time much worse. He clutched his head tightly, screaming into the air.

"Natsu, what's wrong?!" Erza called in worry, forcibly removing the rest of the gauze. She held his hands. "Look at me." She said, trying to keep her calm. "Focus on my voice, ok?"

Natsu struggled, but he managed to open his eyes through the pain.

Erza smiled softly at the victory. "Good. How is your vision? Can you see me?"

Natsu's eyes widened as he looked upon Erza. She noticed his expression.

"What is it? What do you see?"

Natsu uttered the words without realizing it. "A card…"

* * *

**Well here is the long awaited first (technically second) chapter of 7 Pieces! Better late than never huh?! *Dodges thrown objects from angry followers***

**Once again I'm really sorry this took so long, but honestly I found myself at a loss for how to start this story. I wanted to make it a harem, but I wanted to also give it a sort of unique feel, which took a while. I also had to be reminded of the dynamics of a harem. With persona on the brain I decided to incorporate the Arcana into the story. Just something to link the girls to Natsu in different ways other than attraction. **

**Another reason was because I was stuck on how to write for the first girl. Honestly I had a feeling before voting even closed that Erza was going to be the first one (though I was surprised by how the first poll ended when it came to runner-ups). Seeing as how a majority of you who follow my stories are most likely NatZa shippers like myself. The problem was creating an original scenario for them to get together this time around. It was harder than I thought.**

**I plan to give each girl a two, maybe three-shot introduction into the harem. That should keep things moving at a nice pace so things don't get too out of hand, but who knows how it will all go. This probably goes without saying at this point, but this story will not be on a set schedule, but I promise I will update when I can and I thank you all for being patient for this long.**

**Thanks for reading and see you next time! :)**


	3. Strength of Heart II

Strength, one of the most formidable cards in the arcana. Those associated with this arcana embody the qualities of both the beauty and the beast, or so they say. The dichotomy between the two extremes is prevalent throughout the chosen individual's behavior. They value self-control, courage, and virtue, but can just as easily fall to the lure of brute force in order to solve a problem.

While having the potential to be destructive, those associated with the strength arcana are often gentle at heart. They are patient, able to fortify themselves and wait till an opportunity to achieve whatever it is they choose. It takes a lot to upset them, but that does not mean they should be taken lightly. Only with strength can one endure suffering and torment.

* * *

Natsu awoke in his hammock the next morning, his head pounding as if ten thousand wyverns had just finished a stampede. "Ow." He groaned as he sat up with his hand on his aching head. "What happened last night?" he felt something odd on his waist and moved away his blanket. His eyes went wide with fear when he saw Erza lying next to him. She moaned, her hand grasping the waistband of his pants as her arm lay across his leg. He wanted to shout in surprise, but knowing how cranky Erza would get after waking up prematurely he reconsidered this action. Instead he chose to watch her.

It was an interesting sight to behold if Natsu was being honest. Erza was usually so rough, demanding, and not to mention downright scary when she was awake. However when she was sleeping it was as if she was a completely different person. She looked so peaceful and gentle curled next to him like a cat in a nurse's uniform. For some reason she slept with it on, but Natsu chose to ignore her attire for now. Another thing the dragon slayer noticed was how fragile the fearsome Titania looked. Natsu felt that if he touched her she would fall to pieces in his hammock. It made him feel a little sad, but he didn't know why. Natsu leaned in closer, his and Erza's noses almost touching. Upon closer inspection he saw that Erza's pink lips were parted slightly, her sweet breath flowing out when she exhaled.

"Natsu…" she called lazily, startling the wizard in question.

The dragon slayer instantly straightened upright, rocking the hammock just little enough to make Erza moan again. He waited for Erza to fully wake and tear him a new one for watching her sleep, or at least that's what he hoped she would be mad about. There was no telling what she would do to him if she accused him of doing less than honorable things to her while she slept.

He was on pins and needles, his spine tingling with fear as Erza spoke again.

"Don't go…too far…"

"Huh?" Natsu tilted his head in confusion as he slowly relaxed his tense muscles. It then hit him, Erza was still sleeping. He wondered why she was dreaming of him. Probably to yell at him about something or other like usual. Breathing a sigh of relief he slowly exited the hammock.

"No…" he heard Erza whine. She clutched the space where Natsu once was, her face falling into a small frown.

Writing off her sleeping plea as nothing more than just another dream, Natsu pulled the blanket over Erza's body and stretched his arms overhead. "Might as well catch something for breakfast." With that he exited his home, leaving his redheaded guest to her slumber.

* * *

Erza awoke to the smell of something odd assaulting her nostrils. Sniffing twice more, she began to recognize the odor. "Fish?" she sat up in the swinging hammock, next smelling smoke. Realizing the scent was coming from out of the window, Erza walked outside. To her surprise there was Natsu, sitting next to a fire while rotating a rather sizable fish.

"Morning." He said.

"Good morning." Erza yawned. She walked over to him, sitting on the rock on the other side of the fish. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah sort of." He looked her up and down. "Aren't you forgetting something?"

"What do you mean?" Erza looked down, and her face grew red from embarrassment. "Curse my carelessness." she muttered. She requipped into her Heart Kreuz armor. "That's better."

"Here." Natsu handed her a piece of the cooked fish on a stick.

"Thank you." Erza took the fish and bit into it. She was surprised at how tender it was. "This is good."

"It better be." Natsu grumbled. "Took forever to cook it."

"You couldn't use your magic to speed up the process?"

"If I did I would have burned it. I mean, I don't mind the taste but I don't think you would have liked it that much."

Erza blushed slightly as Natsu's explanation. She had no idea he could be so thoughtful. "I'm sorry you had to go through so much trouble for my sake."

"Eh. It's not that big a deal." Natsu waved off. "But since we're on the subject, why were you still here this morning?"

"I originally planned to leave once you had fallen asleep, but I guess I was just too exhausted and fell asleep on my own. I hope I wasn't a bother."

Now it was Natsu's turn to blush. "N-no. I didn't mean it like that. I just thought it was a bit weird. I'm just glad you weren't angry when you woke up."

Erza's eyes widened in confusion. "Why would I be angry?"

Natsu laughed nervously, remembering her muttering in her sleep. "N-no reason."

Erza's eyes narrowed. "Natsu. What did you do?"

"What?! I didn't do anything."

Erza leaned closer to him, causing him to look away. "Did you do something indecent while I slept?"

"I told you I didn't. What kind of guy do you think I am?" Natsu's eyes drifted over Erza's head. _That weird card is gone._ He thought.

"What are you looking at?" Erza demanded.

"Nothing." Natsu sputtered. "Just saw a bird flying overhead."

Erza looked at the sweating dragon slayer a few seconds longer before returning to her seat. She finished the last piece of her fish and stood up, dusting herself off. "Thank you for the meal. I must go home and clean myself up. I'll see you at the guild hall later." She began to walk off but Natsu called out to her.

"Hey, Erza."

She stopped walking, but didn't turn to face him. "Yes?"

Natsu looked down at the ground, trying his best to hide his embarrassment. "Thanks…for taking care of me…and stuff."

Erza grinned, a blush of her own painting her cheeks. "You're welcome." She resumed her path walk to Fairy Hills. "I'll see you at the guild hall." She waved.

"Alright!" Natsu waved back. He then placed his hand on his reddened cheeks. _What the hell is going on with me?_

* * *

Natsu arrived at the guild an hour later. Just for curiosities sake he scanned the building for Erza. Surprisingly she was nowhere to be found. _That's weird._ He thought. _I thought she would have been here long before me._ Having been struck further dumb by this development, Natsu went to question Mirajane about the subject.

He walked to the bar and sat directly in front of the ever smiling barmaid.

"Hello, Natsu. You're here later than usual." She noticed.

"Yeah." Natsu scratched the back of his head and looked away. That damned blush was back. "I kind of got a…late start."

"Oh~. Something kept you up again?" she inquired with a mischevious grin that Natsu didn't seem to notice.

"You could say that. Anyway, have you seen Erza?"

"Erza?" Mirajane placed her finger on the side of her cute jawline. "Now that you mention it I don't think I have. That's quite strange. She's usually one of the first ones here. I hope she's feeling ok."

"What are you talking about, Mira? Erza never gets sick. She's way too strong for that."

Mirajane giggled at Natsu's declaration. "You're right. She's much too stubborn to let a cold keep her down. Speaking of which, how are you feeling?"

"Me?" Natsu pointed at himself and Mirajane nodded in response. "I'm perfectly fine."

"So you're headaches have stopped?"

Natsu nodded and began to knock on his head as if it were a door. "Yep. Everything up here is good to go."

"Not if you keep hitting it like that." Mirajane tittered. "You must be hungry after all that recovery. How about I make you something?" she offered.

"Sounds good. Ill eat then ill go check on Erza."

Mirajane moved to the bar stove, but spoke loud enough to where she could continue her conversation with the dragon slayer. "I thought men weren't allowed in Fairy Hills."

"They aren't, but I have a plan." Natsu puffed out his chest proudly.

"Oh? Well what is this grand strategy?" Mirajane prodded.

"Easy." Natsu wrapped his scarf around his head until only his spiky hair and eyes could be seen beneath it. He then grabbed the middle and index fingers of his left hand while extending the same fingers on his right. "I will sneak in the dorm undetected. Like a ninja." His voice went raspy as he spoke, eliciting another giggle from the barmaid.

"I didn't know dragon slayers were such masters of stealth." Mirajane marveled with widened eyes. She was faking her surprise of course, but it wasn't out of malice. She just loved to engage in banter with Natsu.

"Not many people do. Only I can do it. I have been trying to teach Wendy, but she is proving to be a most difficult pupil." Natsu nodded sagely, his "ninja" voice still active.

"I'm sure she will get better with time." Mirajane reasoned. "Just keep at it."

"I will. Ninja masters never quit."

"With that attitude, your plan is sure to work." She said with an encouraging smile.

Natsu unwrapped his scarf and smiled back, his regular voice returning. "I know, right?"

"Here you are." When Mirajane walked back to the bar top she placed a steaming hot turkey leg in front of Natsu.

Salamander began salivating at the smell. He always loved Mirajane's cooking. "Time to dig in!" within seconds the piece of meat was gone. Natsu patted his full belly, burping before he gave his compliments to the chef. "Thanks, Mira. That was delicious."

"I'm glad I could help, Mr. Ninja." She giggled again.

Natsu wiped his mouth with his forearm and stood up from barstool. "Now that I'm back to full strength, its time to search for Erza." He walked to guild hall doors.

"Be safe." Mirajane waved. Natsu gave her a thumbs up. Once he was gone Mirajane resumed her barmaid duties, although she had the faintest hint of pink on her cheeks.

"Why don't you just ask him on a date already?" Cana suggested before taking a sip of her beer. "All that flirting is going to give me an ulcer."

Mirajane smiled, but Cana could tell it was more threatening than joyful. "Why don't you mind your own business, Cana?" she warned through clenched teeth.

"Hey don't kill the messenger. I'm just saying." Cana then walked back to her table.

Mirajane thought of the card wizard's words. Perhaps she was right. This might be her chance. Lucy seemed to want nothing more than friendship, Lisanna seemed to have all but forgotten her once strong feelings, and there was no possible way Erza would want anything romantic with Natsu. Now was the time to strike. _Cana's right. I've waited long enough. The next time I see Natsu, I'm going to ask him on a date._ Her mind made, Mirajane returned to her duties with a renewed spark of energy, spurned on by thoughts of a perfect date with Natsu.

* * *

Natsu approached Fairy Hills. Now that he saw the structure up close, he began to wonder why he even came here in the first place. Why should he care if Erza wasn't in the guild for one day? She most likely went on a job and didn't tell anyone, and with her gone he could cause all the trouble he wanted without fear of reprimand. But then again, Erza was his friend. If he was being honest she was one of his closest friends next to Lucy, Happy, Lisanna, and Gray. Though he hated to admit it. If something really was wrong with her he had to find out.

Steeling himself, he entered "ninja mode" and slid to the door. He looked around the area where Fairy Hills stood. When he confirmed no one was around he lit a small flame on his index finger.

**_FIRE DRAGON LOCK PICK_**

Natsu pushed as much of his finger as he could into the key hole. He pushed the flame through, melting the lock from the inside. The door hinged open. Natsu jumped into the dormitory, once again checking the coast to see if it was clear.

"Infiltration complete." He pulled down his scarf/mask just enough for his nose to peek out. He sniffed the air, catching hint of Erza's scent. Following the sweet smell, he ascended the stairs until he came across a long hallway. He sniffed the air again. "The smell is getting stronger. This way." He dashed through the hall until he reached the last door on the left. His nose twitched. "Here." He knocked. "Erza?" No response. He knocked again. "Erza, it's Natsu. You in there?" Again no response.

Now Natsu was getting worried. What if Erza was in trouble? He couldn't just ignore it. No matter how strong she is. He stepped back from the door, igniting his fist in flames. "If you're close to the door step back!" he shouted to silence.

**_FIRE DRAGON IRON FIST_**

He burst through the door, reducing it to cinders. He knew he would pay for that, but he could worry about that later. When he entered Erza's room proper, his eyes widened in shock. Erza was on the ground, her hair a mess as it laid tossed over the side of her face. Natsu also noticed that a broken picture frame was next to her head.

"Erza!" he ran to her side and clutched her in his arms. Her breathing was ragged, and her face was red and drenched with sweat. Natsu placed his hand on her forehead to check her temperature, but quickly moved it away on contact.

"You're burning up! Wait, why did that hurt me?"

Erza groaned in pain, which forced Natsu to refocus on the task at hand. He picked her up, luckily she wasn't wearing her armor. Frantically searching around, Natsu finally spotted Erza's bed in front of the window. He moved the blanket and placed her in the bed.

"Ok." Natsu stood up. "Now I have to get some ice to cool her down." Just as he was about to exit the room, he heard Erza moan. "Natsu…don't…go…"

Natsu raised an eyebrow. "How did you know I'm here? Doesn't matter. I'll be right back, ok?" Natsu ran downstairs at top speed, running back into Magnolia and returning to the guild hall. He burst through the doors. "Gray!"

The ice wizard glared at him from the table closest to the stage. "Do you have to be so loud? What do you want?"

Natsu quickly ran to his teammate. "I need some ice cubes! Quick!"

"What the hell am I? Your personal fridge? Get lost."

"Please!" Natsu got on his knees. "It's really important! I'm begging you!"

Gray was even more put off by Natsu's odd behavior. "I said beat it, dragon breath! Don't make me deck you."

"What's going on?" Lucy asked. She, Wendy, Carla, and Happy walked to the pair. "Why all the noise?"

"He keeps asking me for ice cubes." Gray irritably answered.

"It's an emergency!" Natsu shouted.

"What's an emergency?" Lucy inquired.

"Erza's really sick. I need some ice cubes so I can cool her down."

"Erza's sick?" Wendy gasped.

"That would explain why she hasn't shown up today." Carla commented.

"Why did you say so earlier, you idiot?" Gray held out his palm, and a number of ice cubes fell into Natsu's open hand.

"Thanks!" Natsu then ran to the infirmary. Nearly destroying the place until he found an empty pack. He placed the ice cubes Gray made inside the pack and then ran back towards Fairy Hills at top speed.

"Natsu, wait for us!" Lucy shouted after him. Soon she, Wendy, Happy, Carla, and Gray gave chase.

"What's all the commotion?" Mirajane asked. She had previously gone to the cellar to get a box of utensils, effectively missing out on the entire scene.

"Natsu came rushing in like a man possessed." Laki answered.

"Natsu came back?" Mirajane asked with widened eyes. She internally cursed herself for missing her opportunity.

"He said Erza was sick and he needed ice." Kinana said. "Lucy and the rest of their team followed him to Fairy Hills."

"Oh my." Mirajane gasped. She forgot about her thoughts of Natsu for the moment to worry about Erza. "I hope Erza is going to be ok."

* * *

Natsu and the rest of his team gave Wendy some space as she attempted to heal the ailing knight. She had been at it for over thirty minutes, but to everyone's dismay they saw no change.

"What's wrong with her, Wendy?" Lucy worriedly inquired.

The young dragon slayer shook her head. "I don't know. I feel this weird magic inside of her body, but I can't seem to get it out."

"Is it life threatening?" Gray asked.

"I don't think so, but I can't really tell without knowing more."

"Well then you should stop trying to heal her, Wendy. You could be making the situation worse." Carla reasoned.

"I guess you're right." Wendy dropped her hands, ending her healing spell. She frowned at her failure.

"What do we do now?" Happy asked.

"We should tell Master Makarov what's going on." Gray suggested. "He might know what's wrong with her."

"Then let's go." Lucy followed the others out of the room, but stopped when she noticed that Natsu was still sitting at Erza's bedside. "Are you coming, Natsu?"

"No. I'm going to stay for a bit longer."

"Ok." Lucy relented. "We'll let you know if something happens." She walked out of the now barren doorway, leaving Natsu and Erza alone.

Natsu clenched his fist in frustration as he watched Erza struggle to breathe. He felt helpless, this was more than a mere passing cold. This was something serious. Natsu stood up and removed the ice pack from Erza's forehead, patting her sweat away with a cloth before placing it back. "What's going on with you?"

To his surprise, Erza slowly opened her eyes.

"Erza?! You're awake!" Natsu exclaimed.

She slowly turned her head to him. "Nat…su? Not so loud."

"Sorry."

"What are you…doing here? Fairy Hills forbids males…from entry."

Natsu couldn't help but grin at the redhead. Even sick, she was still a stickler for the rules. "You didn't show up at the guild after you left my place so I came to find you. When I got here I saw you passed out on the ground. What happened?"

Erza tried to remember what lead to her current state. The details were still fuzzy, but she recited them as best she could. "After I left your home I returned here so I could get ready to go to the guild hall. After taking a shower and putting on my clothes I walked to my dresser to look at a picture. When I grabbed it, I felt this strong pain in my head and collapsed. Next thing I know I'm bed-ridden. I assume that's where you came along."

"You got a headache?"

Erza nodded. "Yes. I can't explain it, but something in my head began to throb. The pain was unbearable. I curse my weakness."

"Don't worry about it." Natsu reassured. "At least you're ok."

"Natsu…"

"Yeah?"

"Did I say anything…odd while I was unconscious?" Despite her already reddened face, Natsu could tell that she was blushing in embarrassment.

"Odd?" Natsu thought back to when Erza called his name. He realized that was the second time she had done so in her sleep in the past two days. Assuming it was better to keep it a secret, he lied to her. "Nope. Nothing out of the ordinary."

"Don't lie to me, Natsu." She pouted. Natsu almost blushed himself at how cute she looked.

"Honest." He lied again. "You didn't say anything."

Erza narrowed her eyes at the nervous dragon slayer. Seeing no use in pressing the issue in her current condition, she gave up. She huffed and turned to her side. "I will try and get some more rest then."

"Alright." Natsu began to stand up. "Then I'll just be on my way-"

"No." Erza protested, startling Natsu. "Stay. I…I would feel better if someone I trust were to watch over me…in case something happens." Natsu couldn't see it, but Erza was blushing even more.

"If that's what you want. I'll stay." Natsu sat back down in the chair next to Erza's bed. "I'll be right here if you need me. Just like you were when I was sick."

"Thank you." Erza smiled.

"No problem."

The day turned to night and Natsu found himself dozing off. He used his arms as a makeshift pillow as he rest on the side of Erza's bed. She had since retrned to her back, but her hand was clutching Natsu's tightly. Not that either of them realized it.

Just before the dragon slayer succumbed to slumber his eyes were widened by a bright light. He covered his eyes as they focused on a familiar sight. "It's that card again." It was hovering above the sleeping Erza. Natsu reached for it, taking special care not to wake the redhead. He grabbed it, holding in his palm as he examined it. It was a blue card, with what looked to be a mask on the back. When he turned the card over he saw what appeared to be a woman with no face taming a lion.

"I must still be sleeping." Natsu muttered. Suddenly the card shattered and white light bathed over Natsu. When he opened his eyes again, he was standing on top of a mountain. "How did I get here?!" he shouted as he tried to keep himself from falling off the edge. Once he was steady he looked around the mountaintop. "Where am I?! Where's Erza?!"

"You really do shout a lot." A familiar voice said.

Natsu looked behind himself and the sight surprised him even more. There on a bench, sat the old woman he met a few days prior.

"So are you going to stand there all day or are you going to have a seat?" She patted the space next to her. Seeing no other choice Natsu complied.

"Where's Erza?" he asked.

"The redhead's fine." The old woman replied, smoke billowing out of her pipe. "She's still in her room. As are you."

Natsu was more than confused by her statement. "How am I there _and_ here?"

The elderly woman pointed to her gray hair. "Your mind is here. Your body is still in the physical realm."

"Ok~." Natsu still didn't understand but he powered through. "Why is my 'mind' here then?"

"Progress report." The old woman replied. "Think of me as your teacher through this course of Arcana. Now, here's your first assignment: do you have the card?"

"Card?"

"The card you saw above the girls head, numbskull. You're losing points by the second."

"It shattered in my-"Natsu looked down at his hand, and was once again surprised when he saw the card he grabbed from over Erza's head in perfect condition. "But it..."

"Not the most observant person are you?" The old woman held out her hand. "Give it here."

Despite his confusion Natsu did as he was told and handed the woman the card. She examined it, an impressed huffed exiting her lips. She blew out the smoke in her lungs through her nostrils and handed the card back to Natsu. "Strength. Not bad for a first go round."

Natsu looked down at the card with confusion. "Strength? What does that mean?"

"It means that the card in your hand, and the girl, represent the Strength Arcana."

"I still don't get it."

"Of course you don't. You're a terrible student, you know that?"

Natsu grunted in irritation, prompting the old woman to explain herself.

"Fine. I'll give you a quick rundown. The strength arcana, like the name implies, represents the fortitude in one's heart. It is an incredibly useful arcana, as those who possess have the will to endure both immense pain and suffering while demonstrating excellent self-control and composure with a gentle heart. Though they can still be violent."

Natsu thought of the woman's words and related them to Erza. She certainly did fit the description well enough. Erza had endured a lot more in her life as a child than most people would in their entire life. He still wondered how she could have a smile on her face after all that she had to deal with in the Tower of Heaven. He was also a living testament to how violent she could be, but also how nice she was at times as well.

"Is this the reason why she's sick?" Natsu asked, still looking at the card.

"Most likely." The old woman nodded. "Arcana manifest themselves in different ways when they come in contact with the Joker. Hers just happened to be bout of illness."

"Will she get better?"

"When you leave here she should be perfectly fine."

Natsu sighed in relief. "Good."

"Is she your girlfriend?"

Natsu blushed. "What? No! Erza and I aren't like that."

The woman smirked. "Looks like she wants to change that."

"What?"

"Nothing. It's time for you to get going." The old woman stood up and shooed Natsu from the bench. Unbeknownst to him she was pushing him towards the cliff.

"Wait. What do I call you? I still don't know your name."

"I told you that's not important."

"But I have to call you something. I feel bad calling you 'old lady'."

"Well aren't you sweet? Fine. If you must call me something, call me…Betty."

"Betty?" Natsu raised in eyebrow.

"Pretty name I know. Now go!" 'Betty' pushed Natsu off of the cliff, shouting after him. "You're doing great! Keep up the good work! Oh! One last thing-"

Natsu's screams of fear drowned out Betty's voice as he rocketed down the mountainside. Once he saw the ground, he closed his eyes and braced for impact. He fell with a thud and quickly opened his eyes. He was back in Erza's room, but he was now on the floor. "I'm back?"

"Natsu?" Erza called from her bed. She gave him a puzzled stare. "What are you doing on the floor?"

The dragon slayer quickly sat up, dusting himself off. He moved back to the chair. "Thought I dropped something." He lied. "You feeling better?"

"Surprising, yes I am." Erza smiled. "It seems that a good night's rest was all I needed."

"I'm glad." Natsu smiled wide.

Erza looked away from him, her cheeks red again. "Thank you…for staying with me. I appreciate the gesture."

"I said before it was no problem. I guess I'll go home then if you're feeling better. Unless you need me to stay."

Erza shook her head as she smiled. "No. I've already been enough of a burden to you. You should go home and rest."

"Ok then." Natsu stood up from the chair and walked out of the room. "See you tomorrow, Erza."

"Good night, Natsu." Erza waved. Once he was gone, she felt her hand. It was warm. _Did Natsu hold my hand while I was sleeping?_ She began to blush again, but quickly shook out the impure thoughts. _What is happening to me? Why am I so flustered? I must still be feverish._ She felt a chill and stood up from her bed. "Honestly, how could he forget to close the door?" Erza walked to her bedroom doorway, her eyes going wide with surprise. "Where is my door?!"

* * *

Natsu entered his home and let out a loud yawn. "Man, taking care of sick people is a lot of work. At least Erza is ok."

"Natsu!" Happy flew down from his hammock. "Is Erza ok?"

Natsu smiled. "Yep. She made a full recovery."

"Really?"

"Yep. I'm the best doctor in the world." Natsu boasted with a proud grin.

Happy smirked mischievously. The wheels in his little head turning. "What did you do? Kissed her and made her better?"

Natsu began to blush. "S-shut up and go to bed!"

"Aye sir!" Happy saluted, snickering as he flew back to his hammock.

"Jerk." Natsu muttered before laying in his own hammock and closing his eyes. Suddenly he felt a burning sensation on his back. He shouted in pain, waking Happy.

"Natsu, what's wrong?!" the exceed called.

The pink-haired wizard rolled along the floor in agony, grasping at his back. Slowly the pain began to subside and Natsu calmed down, huffing and puffing in exhaustion.

"What happened?" Happy asked.

"I don't know?" Natsu replied as he sat up. "I just felt this burning pain in my back."

"Burning?" Happy walked to Natsu's back, his eyes focused on something. "When did you get a tattoo?"

"What? I don't have any tattoos." Natsu replied.

"Well you do now."

"What the hell? What does it look like?"

Happy flew to the table and grabbed the light pen sitting on it. He walked to the front of Natsu and wrote in the air an X with an I next to it. Natsu looked at the letters quizzically. "What's that supposed to mean?"

* * *

**The next chapter of 7 Pieces is up, and Erza's story is done...for now. Let me know what you guys thought of it. I plan on making the introductions about 2 maybe 3 chapters. Nothing too in depth at this point, but we'll get there.**

**Also, the poll for the next chapter is up on my profile page so be sure to check that out and vote if you haven't already. I will close the poll on the 15th, so go vote now!**

**As always leave a comment or concern and thanks for reading! :)**

**S/N: I know a few of you were speculating that Erza would be the Empress Arcana, but after researching a bit, I feel that Strength captures her personality more. Just wait until you see what the other girl's arcanas are.**


	4. The Demon Empress I

**You all voted, and the next one up is...Mirajane!**

* * *

"So are you going to lie there all day, or are you going to be a man and stand up?"

"Mira, that's enough."

"What? He challenged me. The least he could do is put up a decent fight. I don't even have to us my magic on him."

Natsu slowly stood up from the pile of broken wood, wiping the blood away from his mouth. He glared at the cocky demon. They had been at it for almost an hour, but he had yet to land a single punch on the fiery girl. He didn't know what hurt worse: his pride, or his face.

"Master, please." Lisanna pleaded. "You have to stop them."

Makarov sipped from his mug of beer. "It's out of my hands, child. Mirajane is correct. Natsu did challenge her to this fight. Intervening would only hurt the boy's pride."

"But…"

"Don't worry, Lisanna. I won't hurt your boyfriend too bad." Her elder sister smirked.

Lisanna blushed, but Natsu was less enthused about the remark. "I'm not her boyfriend." He vehemently denied.

Mirajane's smug grin twisted an angered glare. "Something wrong with dating my little sister?"

Natsu's zeal evaporated and he gulped hard. He could feel the demonic aura oozing from Mirajane. "N-no!" he shook his head. "There's nothing wrong with it. I…I just mean…" He began walking backwards in his fear.

Mirajane followed instep. "You mean what? She not good enough for you? Is that it?"

"No."

"No?"

Makarov sighed in disappointment at Natsu. "That boy is never going to learn how to talk to a woman at this rate." Lisanna looked to the old man with confusion.

"No I mean she is! It's just that-"neglecting where he was going, Natsu tripped over a rock and fell onto his back in the grass. This allowed Mirajane to catch up and stand over him, her angered stare chilling his bones.

"You like bimbos like Erza, huh? Is that it?" She accused.

"What? Ew! I would never like Erza! She's way too scary!"

"So you like goody two shoes like Cana? Or maybe quiet little book worms like Levy are more your type?" She leaned closer to him, inwardly grinning as she watched the young dragon slayer tear up in fear. She didn't know why, but something about his crying face made her melt. It was certainly an odd feeling to have. A tad on the sadistic side.

"I'm so confused." Natsu admitted, his voice quaking.

Mirajane leaned in even closer to Natsu, their noses almost touching, as she continued to glare at him. Of course she was no longer mad at him, she just wanted to watch him squirm. A demon playing with her toy dragon. "So, what's wrong with my sister?"

"Nothing! I said I just-"Natsu stopped and his nose began to twitch. He then took sniffs of the air around him. First short ones. Then one long inhale. It smelled like vanilla. A sweet scent that aroused his nostrils. Though he couldn't pinpoint where it was coming from.

"What the hell are you doing, you freak?" Mirajane demanded.

Natsu's eyes trailed up to her face, which was now painted with her usual irritation. He sniffed again, realizing that the sweet smell was indeed coming from Mirajane. Without really thinking he blurted out: "You smell nice."

Mirajane's cheeks began to flush red. "W-what did you say?"

"I said you smell nice." Natsu repeated.

Mirajane's blush encompassed her whole face, and she froze.

"Mira?" Natsu called. He reached up to her, touching her arm and brining her out of her trance.

"Don't touch me, you bastard!" she hit Natsu in the face with a hard punch that sent him flying into a nearby tree. Once she saw that he was dazed and barely conscious, the white-haired girl stormed off, grabbing Lisanna by the wrist. "Come on, Lisanna, we're going home."

"But what about Natsu?"

"Forget that jerk!"

As the sisters walked past Makarov, Mirajane muttered under her breath. While he couldn't make out her words, Makarov could tell that she was still blushing. The old man grinned, taking a sip of his beer and walking towards the still loopy Natsu. "Perhaps there is hope for you yet, Natsu."

"Thanks…" Natsu replied in a daze.

* * *

Natsu sat at the bar, his chin resting on his palm. His nose was scrunched up as he racked his brain for answers on his latest predicament. It had been a couple days since he received the mysterious tattoo on his back, and he was still far away from getting any answers. He wanted to call on Betty, but he had no idea how. He tried shouting at the top of his lungs for her, but that only served to disturb Happy, as well as make him look like a madman. Lost in his mind, he barely noticed Mirajane walking towards him.

"Another sleepless night?"

"Huh? Oh hey, Mira. Something like that."

"Jewel for your thoughts?" She leaned over the bar, her face dangerously close to Natsu's.

The dragon slayer leaned back a bit, earning a pout from the barmaid.

"Is it something I said?"

"N-no." Natsu shook his head. "I just wasn't expecting you to get so…close."

"Do I smell bad?"

"No! You smell…good. I was just surprised." This was mostly how things had been between Natsu and Mirajane lately. Close and awkward was how Natsu would often describe it. There was this underlying tension between the two of them, one that the barmaid was trying to cut through. Natsu had no idea what had gotten into his friend, but he was beginning to be frightened by it.

"Say, Natsu…" Mirajane began. "Would you like to…"

"Natsu!" Erza called from the guild doors, interrupting the now frustrated barmaid. "Are you ready to leave?!"

"Yeah! In a minute!" He called back. He turned back to Mirajane. "What were you saying, Mira?"

"It was nothing." She lied with a smile and leaned off of the bar top. "You should get going before Erza gets angry."

"Yeah, you're right." Natsu hopped off of the bar stool and walked to the redhead. "See you later."

"Good luck on your job!" she waved. Once the two exited the guild hall. Mirajane's smile faded into a forlorn frown. Ever since Natsu helped Erza recover from her mysterious sickness, the two had been closer than ever. They had been going on jobs alone almost all the time. Part of Mirajane hoped that it was just because they were great friends, but that was also what she was most worried about. Friendships usually blossomed into the most beautiful of loves.

In response to this threat Mirajane tried to be bolder with her feelings towards Natsu, openly flirting with him in the guild hall. To her dismay these advances were always met with an awkward silence. She always had trouble truly opening up about her feelings, even in her more rambunctious days. She sighed heavily, her depression attracting the ears of a certain fortuneteller.

"Trouble in paradise?" Cana teased.

"Leave it alone, Cana." Mirajane warned.

"Just answer this, have you asked if they're dating?"

"No, I have not."

"Then things aren't completely lost yet are they?"

"I guess you're right." Mirajane contemplated.

"Then stop stalling and just ask him, otherwise Erza's going to beat you to it."

Mirajane looked at the guild hall doors, Cana's warning floating in her mind.

* * *

Natsu and Erza exited the carriage that had brought them to their job destination. Erza thanked the driver and paid him before helping a queasy Natsu down to the ground.

"T-thanks…" He grumbled, suppressing his urge to throw up.

"You really have to get better with this. It gets tiring having to pick you up all the time."

"Hey…don't…" another suppression of vomit. "Blame me. It's all Igneel's fault. If he didn't teach me dragon slayer magic I wouldn't be like this."

"If you say so. Can you stand on your own?"

"Yeah." Natsu slowly nodded.

Erza removed Natsu's arm from around her shoulder, watching as he shakily steadied himself. Once he was set, he gave her a thumbs up, causing her to grin. "Let's get moving."

"Alright." The dragon slayer nodded, following behind the S-Class wizard.

As they walked down the path to their destination, Lemon Village, Erza began to slow her pace so she was side by side with Natsu. Naturally the dragon slayer failed to notice this and continued on as if everything was normal. The job itself was an easy one, they were just going to help out a local tavern. In reality Erza could have handled it herself, but she asked – more like insisted – Natsu come along with her.

Ever since her bout of sickness, she found herself more…interested in the dragon slayer for lack of a better term. A part of her had always felt some sort of attraction to Natsu, but she never saw it as anything romantic…at least not at first. He was something of a younger sibling to her, but there were brief moments of clarity over the years when he appeared to be more. All but clueless on how to deal with such feelings, Erza simply ignored them, but the slight increase in her heartbeat when he was near made sure she would not forget them anytime soon.

Natsu on the other hand was slightly more perceptive to romance but never saw a need for it. It didn't make him stronger or faster, so he mostly cast it aside. That didn't mean he was callous however, he was still a good, empathetic person. He just focused on himself more than the fairer sex, and the most prominent thing on his mind at the moment was this arcana business. Erza was the first one, the Strength Arcana. _How many more are there and who are they?_ He thought. _And what happens if I get all of them? Betty said I'll get super strong._ A creepy smile crept across his lips. _I'll be the strongest wizard ever. Then I'll be able to show those jerks at the guild who's really the boss!_

"Natsu?" Erza called, worried about the eerie look on his face.

_First I'll beat up Gray. Then Gajeel. Then Laxus._

"Natsu?" Erza called out more forcefully. Still no effect.

_Then I'll take down Gildarts, and finally the old man! Then I'll-_

"Natsu!"

"Whuh? Huh?" Natsu was brought out of his daydreams and looked to the irritated face of his job partner. "What's up, Erza?"

"Did you not hear me calling you? What were you daydreaming about?"

"Nothing." Natsu lied with a smile. _Then I'll take on Erza…maybe._

"We're here." Erza stated, her and Natsu stopping just before entering a small village near a rather spacious lake filled with boats. "Lemon Village."

"Cool." Natsu said. "Let's get this job over with."

* * *

Mirajane tapped her finger against the bar top, her eyes focused on the guild hall doors. Natsu and Erza had been gone for nearly half the day, and she was starting to get anxious.

"Hey, Mira!" Macao called. "Another round please!"

Mirajane forced her eyes to turn away from the door. "Coming right up!" she smiled, putting on a friendly face despite the paranoia building inside her.

* * *

Erza ran around the tavern, giving and taking orders from customers left and right. Despite being such a small establishment, the Saltfish Tavern in Lemon Village was a pretty busy place during the fishing season. Fisherman from all over Fiore would come and take part in the village's annual fishing competition. It was quite the sight to behold.

Natsu placed the container holding all the dirty dishes he collected on the bar top. "Here's more."

"Thank you." The brunette bartender smiled. She wore a yellow shirt with a picture of a swordfish on it, her green glasses helping frame her petite face. She took the container and placed it in the window behind her, allowing the dishwashers to take them. "You two are certainly a big help. To be honest this is probably the largest amount of people we've ever had in here."

"Yeah." Natsu agreed with a nod, looking at all the smiling patrons. "It looks like the place is going to explode."

"That's usually what happens here during this time of year." The bartender giggled.

Erza walked to the kitchen window, pieces of paper in hand. "Two more Clipper wings and a house salad!" she called to the cook.

"Coming right up!"

Without missing a beat she quickly moved back to the floor. Natsu was amazed by how fast the redhead had adapted to the tavern's pace. She even dealt with unruly customers quickly, mostly through threats of bodily harm via sword.

Noticing the look of awe on his face, the brunette bartender slid over to him. "Your girlfriend's a pretty good waitress."

Natsu's face instantly flushed red. "S-she's not my girlfriend!" he nervously protested.

"Oh I see." The girl teased with a sly smile. "She's only one of them isn't she? Good looking guy like you must have girl's hanging on his every word."

"W-what?!" Natsu yelped.

"Natsu!" Erza called. "There's another dirty table!"

"C-coming!" he grabbed the newly emptied bucket and his wash cloth. "I have to get back to work." He said to the bartender.

"Don't let me stop you." she smiled.

Natsu grumbled and walked to the vacant table.

* * *

Mirajane was once again staring at the guild hall doors. The sun was beginning to set and Natsu and Erza still hadn't returned. She briefly thought of just putting off her question until tomorrow, but a part of her put the fear in her mind that it would be too late by then. So there she stood, hoping the next time the guild doors would open…

"We're back!" a familiar voice rang out, causing Mirajane to smile wide. They had finally returned.

"You always gotta be so loud?" Gray irritably asked.

"It wouldn't be Natsu if he wasn't." Lucy grinned.

"Mhm." Wendy nodded.

"How was the job?" Lucy asked as Natsu and Erza walked to their table.

"Nothing too hard." Erza reported, sitting down across from her. "The village we visited was in a nice location."

"We saw a guy catch a fish this big!" Natsu stretched his arms as wide as he could. "It was awesome!"

"Sounds like you both had fun." Mirajane uttered.

Natsu and the others looked to her. "Oh hey, Mira." The dragon slayer greeted. "You had something to ask me right?"

"In a minute." She turned to the redhead. "Erza? Can I speak with you a moment, please?"

Erza was confused about the need for secrecy, but she accepted. "Of course."

The two left to the bar, leaving Natsu and the others more than a little confused.

"What was that about?" Gray asked.

"I don't know." Lucy shrugged. "But did that feel awkward to anyone else?"

"Definitely." Wendy nodded.

Natsu watched the two S-Class wizards when they reached the bar. He was starting to feel that dull pain in his head again.

"Here you are." Mirajane placed a cup of tea in front of Erza.

"Thank you." Erza accepted. She took a sip from the cup before placing it back on the saucer. "So what is it you wanted to talk about? It must be dire if you have the need for such secrecy."

"Not really." Mirajane denied. "I just had a question. It's kind of personal."

"I understand." Erza prepared to take another sip of tea. "What is it?"

"What's your relationship with Natsu?"

Erza's eyes widened, her cheeks turned red, and she spit out her tea in surprise. "Wh-what?" she coughed. "What brought that on?"

"No reason." The barmaid shrugged. "I just wanted to know if the two of you were dating. You seem to have gotten pretty close as of late."

Erza's blush grew. "D-dating? M-me a-and N-Natsu?" she stammered.

Mirajane nodded.

"O-of course not." Erza nervously denied. "Natsu is a good friend. He's more of a little brother to me. The idea of us being…involved is absurd. Laughable even." She let out a fake laugh to hide her embarrassment, but Mirajane saw right through her.

"So you won't mind if I ask him on a date?"

"A what?" Erza was nearly floored by the question.

"A date." Mirajane repeated. "You said you two aren't in a relationship, right? That means you won't mind me asking him out on a date."

Erza felt an uneasy feeling forming in the pit of her stomach. She had no idea what it could be. Perhaps some form of bad food. Or maybe it was the tea. She forced herself to smile. "Of course not. Do as you please."

Mirajane smiled. "Thanks, Erza."

Erza nodded. "You're welcome."

Mirajane walked from behind the bar and back to the table. As Erza watched the barmaid walk to Natsu, the uneasy feeling grew. She pressed her palm against her abdomen. _What is this feeling?_

"Natsu?" Mirajane prompted.

"Yeah?" The dragon slayer looked up to the barmaid.

"The question I wanted to ask you earlier was…" she began to blush. The moment had come, she had to be resolute. "There's a…festival in Balsam village tomorrow night. I wanted to know if…you wanted…to go with me?"

_What~?!_ Gray and Lucy internally shouted in unison.

"Yeah. Ok." Natsu smiled. "Sounds fun."

_What~?!_ Lucy and Gray shouted again.

"Great." Mirajane smiled. "We can leave after the guild hall closes tomorrow."

"Cool."

"I'll see you then." With that Mirajane walked back to the bar, a smile on her lips, and blush on her cheeks.

Natsu turned back round, confused by the stunned looks on his friend's faces. "What's up with you guys?"

"Do you not know what just happened?' Lucy asked.

"Should I?" Natsu retorted.

"Mira just asked you out on a date, doofus!" Gray snapped.

"What?" Natsu questioned. "You're crazy. Why would Mira do that?"

"I wish I knew. I could have sworn she had better taste in guys."

"You wanna go, snowman?!" Natsu challenged.

"Bring it, matchstick!"

"Please calm down." Wendy pleaded.

"Stop, you guys!" Lucy shouted. "Erza's coming back."

"Oh crap." Gray said in fear. He and Natsu sat back down at the table, hands in their lap as Erza walked by. "We weren't fighting, Erza. Honest."

"Yeah." Natsu frantically nodded. "We weren't fighting at all."

"I'm going home." Erza said, completely ignoring the two. Her tone was flat. It was as if all of her energy had been drained.

"Erza?' Lucy called. The knight ignored her and kept walking.

"Is she ok?" Wendy asked worriedly.

"Doesn't look like it." Gray answered. "Wonder what happened."

* * *

The next night Natsu stood in front of the closed guild hall doors, looking up at the moon as he pulled on the collar of his outfit. "I hate wearing these damn things. I can barely move." He grumbled. After the guild had closed that day, Mirajane told him to come back in an hour so they could go on their date. The reality of the situation had begun to sink in, and he could feel his limbs shaking anxiously. He had never been on a real date before, and his first one being with Mirajane only served to unnerve him more. There was something else that was bothering him as well. He hadn't seen Erza all day, no one had. "She looked pretty out of it yesterday. I hope she didn't get sick again."

He tugged on his collar again. He was dressed much different than he normally was. His entire wardrobe had been replaced by a gray and black summer yukata. According to Lucy the festival in Balsam called for it. His trademark scarf was currently being used as a sash to hold his yukata in place. "Man, when is she gonna get here?"

"Natsu!" a sweet and familiar voice called.

"Finally!" The dragon slayer groaned. "You-"he was stunned silent when Mirajane approached him. Her Yukata was a creamy white with pink flower designs and a black sash around her stomach. Her hair was tied in an up-do, her top ponytail gone in exchange for two wavy bangs that flowed down over her ears. She also wore a pink lily in her hair.

"Sorry to keep you waiting." She apologized. "It took me forever to put this on." She looked Natsu up and down and smiled warmly. "You look very handsome."

Natsu snapped out of his trance. "Um, thanks. You too." he quickly caught himself. "I-I mean you look nice too."

Mirajane giggled at his flustered state. It was cute. She grabbed his yukata sleeve. "Come on. If we don't hurry we'll miss the train."

"Do we have to take that?" Natsu groaned, being pulled forward by the barmaid.

"It's faster than walking. Come on, hurry!"

Natsu groaned again.

From the side of the guild hall, Erza emerged. She was dressed in all black spandex, wearing a black mask that concealed everything but her eyes and a length of her red hair. _I'm only following to make sure Natsu doesn't mess anything up._ She reasoned. With that she followed the pair, being careful to keep a safe distance.

* * *

Upon arriving at the festival, Mirajane and Natsu immediately began to take in the sights. Everywhere they looked there were people, stalls with various items, paper lanterns hanging about, and the smells of lots of different foods. It was certainly a marvelous image, and a perfect backdrop for a date. Mirajane was excited, but Natsu was getting more nervous by the second. He had no idea what to do on an actual date. He received some pointers from Loke beforehand, but he thought it best to forget about them.

_What did he mean by "conquer her"?_ He thought.

They had visited a few of the stalls, getting a few knick knacks here and there as souvenirs. Natsu got a pinwheel for Happy, while Mirajane won a stuffed animal for Lisanna, as well as a beast mask for Elfman. The pair also got masks of their own. Mirajane wore a black demon mask on the side of her head, while Natsu sported a mask of a dragon that reminded him of Igneel. As time passed further, Natsu could feel his nerves settling. He was beginning to enjoy himself.

"Natsu?" Mirajane called to him.

"Yeah?"

"Here." Mirajane poked her toothpick into one of the takoyaki in her plate, she then offered it to the dragon slayer.

"Oh, thanks." Natsu ate the ball, his nose catching a brief whiff of vanilla. Mirajane blushed, she could feel the warmth of his breath on her fingers.

"Oh would look at that." An older woman cooed.

"Ah to be young again." A man observed.

Natsu and Mirajane heard the comments and quickly pulled away from one another.

"That was good." Natsu said of the takoyaki.

"I'm glad you liked it." Mirajane returned.

As the two continued walking through the festival Erza watched them closely, moving from stall to stall. She too had partaken in the delights of the night. Chewing on a taiyaki pastry, she observed her two friends like a hawk. _I'm just here to make sure things run smoothly. _She kept telling herself._ There could be trouble if I am not around._ When she saw Mirajane feed Natsu, that queasiness returned, along with hint of anger. She still had yet to figure out what that feeling was, but she knew it grew larger the longer she watched the pair enjoy their night.

"Look, Natsu!" Mirajane eagerly pointed at one of the stalls. "They have a fish scooping game."

The pair walked to the stall and looked down at the fish with wonder.

The older man chuckled at them. "Looking to win a pet for your girlfriend, son?" he asked Natsu.

Mirajane blushed and looked away with a smile. Natsu was less than amused. "She's not my girlfriend." He protested with a blush of his own.

"Whatever you say." The man chuckled. "Care to try your luck anyway? Only 500 jewel."

"Deal." Natsu handed the man the money and bent down, taking the scoop in his hand.

"Now remember you gotta be patient." The man instructed. "Can't just go in all gung-ho. Takes patience."

"I know how to fish." Natsu retorted. As soon as he saw a fish he scooped it up. "Ha! Told ya!" he shouted in triumph. That soon turned to anger when his scoop broke and the fish fell back into the water. "What?! I had it!"

"Told ya that ya need patience. The scoops made of paper." The man explained. "Care to try again?"

Natsu grumbled intelligibly before handing the man another 500 jewel, receiving another scoop. "I got it this time." He declared.

"Do your best." Mirajane encouraged.

"Here I go!" he scooped another fish, but once again it escaped. "Raghh!" he shouted.

"Oh." The stall runner winced. "You almost had that one. Wanna go again?"

"Hell yeah." The dragon slayer handed the man more jewel and rolled up his sleeve when he got his next scoop. "These lousy fish aren't going to beat me."

Over and over again Natsu failed, and over and over again he paid more money for another go. Mirajane and Erza – who was still watching from the shadows - tried their best to cheer him on, but it was becoming evident that he was getting nowhere with this game.

The old man counted all the money Natsu had given him. "Looks like another failure there, kid. I really thought you had that one." he said facetiously.

"Let's go, Natsu." Mirajane suggested. "We can try another stall."

"No." the dragon slayer firmly protested. He reached into his scarf-sash, looking at his last bit of money with determination. "One more time." He gave the money to the vendor.

"Alright. Gotta admit, I like your persistence, son." He handed Natsu his final scoop. "Best of luck."

Natsu clutched the scoop in his hand as if his life depended on it. In a way it did. He put forth all his hopes in this final go.

"You can do it, Natsu." Mirajane cheered on. "Be the scoop."

"Focus." Erza said. "I have faith in you."

Natsu closed his eyes, focusing all of his energy into his hand. "Be the scoop." He repeated. He eyes shot open and his swiped inside the water. He looked at the fish flopping around and his face lit up. "Yeah!"

"You did it!" Mirajane exclaimed happily. She bent down, placing her hands on the elated dragon slayer's shoulders.

"Well done, Natsu." Erza praised with a grin. "I knew you would overcome that challenge."

"I did it!" Natsu shouted again. He looked at the fish in his scoop, happy at his success, until he heard the paper rip. His face, along with Mirajane's and Erza's, went white with shock as the fish fell back into the water and swam around.

"Dang. So close." The old man shook his head. "Guess it just wasn't meant to be."

Natsu looked down at the ground, his happiness broken and replaced by despair. "I…I had it. I finally caught it, and…" he muttered.

"Oh, Natsu." Mirajane comforted. "It's ok. We can just try another booth."

Natsu balled his hands into fists and raised his head, roaring in rage as fire shot forth from his mouth. "Damn cheating fish!"

The old man's eyes widened in shock. He ducked out of the way of Natsu's fire.

"Oh dear." Mirajane gasped. "This won't end well."

Erza pinched the bridge of her nose in irritation as the frightened crowd ran away from the furious Fairy Tail wizard. "That idiot. He needs to learn to control his temper."

* * *

A few hundred screaming patrons and thousands of jewel of property damage later, Natsu and Mirajane found themselves walking along a path on the outskirts of Balsam village.

"Sorry I ruined everything, Mira." Natsu apologized. "We got kicked out of the festival because of me."

"You don't need to apologize. You didn't ruin anything." The silver haired maiden reassured with a smile. "I had fun."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Well that's good." Natsu smiled. He heard a pop and looked up to the sky, seeing bright flashes of multi-colored light.

"Fireworks." Mirajane marvelled. "They look so beautiful." She stood closer to Natsu, grabbing the sleeve of his yukata.

_Erza could feel her blood boiling as she watched from a nearby building. Perhaps this is how Juvia feels when she sees other women with Gray._ She thought.

"Hey, Natsu…" Mirajane began. Neither of them looked away from the fireworks.

"What's up?"

"Thank you for coming with me to the festival."

"You're welcome." He smiled.

She tightened her grip on his yukata. "Do you think…we could do this again sometime?"

Natsu smiled wider. "Sure." he nodded.

Mirajane smiled warmly and rested her head against Natsu's shoulder, causing him to blush. "I'll be looking forward to it."

Natsu looked away, scratching his cheek with his finger. "Yeah…me too." Another bright light caught Natsu's attention, but this one wasn't from the fireworks. He looked over to Mirajane, his eyes catching sight of a blue card turning above her head. _Another one?_

* * *

**_Next chapter is in the books. As stated before, this one is all about Mirajane (which honestly, I had a feeling she would be next), but I also added some Erza as well since I can't just totally ignore her budding feelings as well. That's mostly how this will go. Each time I focus on a new girl's introduction, I'm also going to write on how the other girls will react to it. I know that's more than obvious, but I feel it still needed to be said. _**

**_Anyways, let me know what you guys think by leaving a review and I will be posting a new poll in the next couple of days so I can get the next girl rolling and get chapters out a tad faster. As always, thanks for reading! :)_**


	5. The Demon Empress II

The Empress. Along with Strength, it is one of the most powerful cards within the entire Arcana. The Empress encompasses a great many things in its chosen individual: creativity, prosperity, abundance, fertility, sexuality, but most of all they exude an air of comfort. Women associated with this Arcana are often seen as mother figures to those around them.

They are also highly intuitive, not much - if anything - can be kept secret from them. No matter how well guarded a secret is, all will eventually revealed by the Empress.

* * *

Mirajane Strauss was on cloud nine, her usual smile having steadily grown wider over the past couple of days. A handful of people knew why. A certain oblivious dragon slayer - who just so happened to be sitting in front of her at this very moment – was to blame for her cheerful mood.

"So~." The barmaid sang. Once again she was leaning over the counter, her folded arms resting under her chest. Whether she was aware of how nervous this made Natsu was unknown, but either way she enjoyed the look on his face.

"What's up?" Natsu asked, looking away from her. He was confused by Mirajane's more than joyful demeanor, but he didn't question it. He always liked seeing his friends happy.

"Have you thought about what to do?"

Natsu looked to the ceiling and pondered this question, blowing bubbles in his mug of soda through his straw. "No, not yet." He finally said. "But I'll have something before the day is out." It had been nearly a week since their date, and due to the success – if you don't count the festival incident - of the first one, Mirajane was eager for their second go-round. However she decided to let Natsu pick what they did this time around. She was on pins and needles as she thought of what Natsu might suggest. While she resigned to the idea that it wouldn't be anything too romantic, she still left herself a little room to be surprised.

"Well, take your time." Mirajane smiled. "No need to rush."

"Even though this is fourth time you've asked me today." The dragon slayer mumbled.

"Hmm? I didn't catch that."

"Nothing!" Natsu said quickly. He finished his drink and took off to the guild doors. "I should get going. Lucy and Wendy are waiting. Come on, Happy." He called to his buddy.

"Aye!" the exceed answered. He spread his wings and flew after Natsu. "See you later, Mira."

"Have a safe trip!" she waved. Once Natsu and Happy were gone she returned to cleaning the bar top, a pleasant, upbeat hum escaping her lips. As the barmaid daydreamed of her next outing with Natsu, an ominous red-haired cloud threatened to rain on her parade.

Erza sat at the edge of the bar, her eyes never leaving the joyful Mirajane. She was unaware that she was glaring, but everyone around her could tell clear as day. Ever since following Natsu and Mirajane on their outing, the redhead had been in a particularly foul mood. She was hardest on Natsu, refusing to acknowledge his presence, even on jobs. As such she chose not to go with him today.

Cana – finding an excuse to alleviate her ever increasing boredom – snaked towards Erza with a mischievous grin. "You stare any harder and Mira will have holes in her back."

Erza's eyes widened and she turned to the brunette. "Hm? What was that Cana?"

Cana grinned. "Looks like someone has been bit by the jealousy bug."

"What are you talking about?"

"Come on~." Cana prodded. "You don't have to lie to me, Erza. You like Natsu. It's written all over your face."

Erza blushed, proving Cana's teasing to be true. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Sure you don't." Cana grinned. She watched Erza fidget and chuckled to herself. Her teasing was done for now. "You better hurry. Mira's already made the first move."

Erza raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean 'first move'?"

Cana tapped her nose twice and moved back to her seat, confusing the redhead even more. Erza glared at the mischievous brunette for a few more moments before turning back around. _What was she talking about? Why would I be jealous?_ She thought. _What is there to be jealous of? If Mira has romantic interest in Natsu then what business is it of mine?_ She looked back to the humming barmaid, her glare returning. _There's no reason for me to be jealous…I have no feelings for Natsu. I don't._

* * *

Inside the Oshibana Train Station, Natsu and the others were engaged in a fierce fight with dark wizards…or rather they **would** have been if Natsu was paying any attention to the task at hand. The job was an urgent request, rescue the hostages being held inside the train station by a dark guild. Natsu's group arrived in town on foot and broke into the station, allowing the hostages to escape while they took care of the criminals.

Lucy and Wendy fought heroically against their ferocious adversaries, their focus completely on the battle. Natsu on the other hand was fighting on autopilot. His body battled through enemy after enemy with ease, but his mind was focused on something else entirely.

_What am I going to do about Mira?_ He thought as he kicked an enemy in the face and out of the station. _She really wants to hang out again, but I have no idea what we would do. _Natsu dodged a lightning bolt and punched its owner in the stomach, causing them double over in pain. _Then there's that card I saw a back then. It was the same thing with Erza, but it also felt kinda different._ _Speaking of Erza…_Natsu thought of the glare she had been giving him over the past couple of days. _She's been really pissed lately. More than usual. I wonder what happened. Maybe a job went bad and she didn't get enough money or something. I know I would be angry at that._

He reached behind himself, rubbing the tattoo on his upper back. _There's still a lot_ _don't understand this Arcana stuff at all, and that old lady is no freakin help._ _I wonder if Cana or Levy would know what to do._ Natsu ducked a kick and answered with a Fire Dragon Roar. He then stood up, stroking his chin thoughtfully as he ran through options in his mind.

"Wow." Wendy said in awe, watching Natsu. "He doesn't look tired at all."

"Well it does help that these guys aren't too strong." Lucy pointed out. The dark wizards were so weak in fact that Lucy didn't even have to use her spirits to take care of them. It wasn't even worth remembering the name of their guild in the long run.

"Aye." Happy agreed as he and Carla floated above the girls.

"Even Happy can beat these guys." The tabby commented.

"Aye!" Happy said with a nod, this time puffing out his chest proudly. "Even I can-"He paused when he realized what Carla meant. "What's that supposed to mean?" he whined.

Lucy's eyes widened when she saw a man twice Natsu's size quickly approach the dragon slayer from behind, a giant axe in hand to strike.

_I suck at cooking and don't have much money, so I guess dinner is out._ _This "date" stuff is hard. How does Loke do it?_ He slumped his shoulders in defeat. "Why did I have to pick?" he grumbled, failing to notice the burly man behind him. He raised his axe overhead, poised to strike down the occupied dragon slayer.

"Natsu, look out!" Lucy screamed.

"Oh no!" Wendy gasped.

"Natsu!" Happy called.

"Move out of the way!" Carla shouted.

Natsu failed to hear his friend's cries, but his eyes widened in realization. The large man swung his axe but Natsu reached his arm up, catching the giant man's hands before his weapon could make contact. Natsu then pulled him down and gave an the man an uppercut that sent him flying out of the roof of the station and into the sky. "I got it!" he shouted triumphantly.

"Natsu is amazing!" Wendy exclaimed with a smile. She had stars in her eyes as she watched her fellow dragon slayer's overwhelming display of power.

"Y-yeah." Lucy smiled nervously. She was more worried about the damage he had caused to the station overall. "He sure is."

Once Natsu had stepped out of his own head he looked down at all of the defeated dark wizards at his feet. His eyes remained wide, though this time it was dues to confusion. "Hm? Where did these guys come from? Are we done already?"

"Yeah, I guess we-"Lucy began before a loud boom shook the station. The Fairy Tail wizards all ran out of the station and saw the large man that Natsu defeated. He was lying in a small crater, spirals in his eyes.

"Who's that guy?" Natsu asked the others.

"Yeah." Lucy said again. "We're done here."

* * *

"We're back!" Natsu yelled into the guild hall, Happy, Carla, Wendy, and Lucy close behind him.

"Nats-"Erza began.

"Welcome back!" Mirajane called to the group, unknowingly interrupting the redhead. "How was the-" Mirajane's face instantly turned red when Natsu ran to her and grabbed her hands. The scene culminated in a string of mischievous oohs from their guildmates. Once more, an even more harsh glare from Erza. "N-Natsu." Mirajane stammered. "I-"

"I figured out what we're doing tonight!" Natsu exclaimed, shaking the barmaid's clasped hands. "Meet me in South Gate Park around sunset, ok?"

Mirajane had no idea what to say. She was elated that Natsu had finally found something for them to do, but his brazen shouts of triumph rendered her speechless. So, she simply nodded slowly in agreement. Natsu accepted this with a wide smile, which in turn caused her to blush even more. _His hands…they're so warm._

"Great!" Natsu said. He let go of her hands – which Mirajane internally cursed - and turned to run out of the guild. "Don't forget! South Gate Park at sunset!" he called back before exiting the guild.

"Natsu, wait for me! Where are you going?!" Happy called, flying after him.

Mirajane was still stunned at what just happened, as was the rest of the guild. Scattered chatter could be heard all throughout the busy building.

"What was that about?"

"I don't know."

"How dare he touch my sister like that?!"

"Calm down, Elf."

"Natsu called Mira to the park?"

"At sunset no less."

"Could it be a love confession?!"

"No way! Natsu isn't the romantic type. Not by a long shot."

"Yeah, and besides there's no way a sweet girl like Mira would go for a guy like him. He's way too immature."

"I don't know. I think that makes him kind of cute."

"Told you." Cana said to Erza. "Looks like Natsu moving in on Mira too. You'd better hurry~." She sang.

Erza gave no reply to Cana's words. She simply looked out the open doors of the guild hall.

* * *

Seeing that the time to meet with Natsu was close, Mirajane left the guild before it closed. While initially worried about the state of affairs while she was gone, she was reassured by Kinana, who volunteered to take care of the bar in her place. Her plans setMirajane steadily yet nervously paced through the streets of Magnolia, a light pink dust coated on her cheeks.

_I can't believe Natsu did something so embarrassing back there._ She thought back to random instances of Natsu embarrassing people in the guild for much less. She then sighed in defeat. _On second thought I can, but still, what was he thinking?_ _The look on his face…does he know how I feel about him?_ _Maybe I was too obvious at the festival. There's also Erza._ Mirajane's mind briefly turned over to her red-haired rival. Particularly her standoffish behavior as of late. _I feel kind of bad. She doesn't seem to realize that she even likes Natsu, but I can't wait for that._ _If she won't make a move…I will._ She looked behind herself, seeing a quick glimpse of red that just as quickly went away. Mirajane sighed again and continued on her way. _I just hope she can be honest with herself soon. This is getting awkward. _

Erza hid in the alleyway Mirajane had looked in not too long ago, her hand covering her mouth to keep herself quiet. _That was close. Did she spot me?_ Erza peeked around the wall, breathing a sigh of relief upon noticing Mirajane was still walking ahead. _Good. I was undetected._ She slowly exited the alley and continued her stealthy pursuit. Though with each step she continued to wonder about her actions. _I can't believe I'm doing something like this again._ She scolded herself. _Mirajane and Natsu are my guild mates. They're my friends._ _I should be happy for them, not snooping around and spying on their intimate moments._ _I feel so ashamed of my actions…but I can't help it._ _W__hen I see them together, I feel this pain._ She thought of Natsu's smile when he was around Mirajane, her face falling ever so slightly. _Why does he not smile at me that way?_

As the park came into view, Mirajane's heart began to race. _Calm down, Mirajane. This isn't like you. _She told herself._ Why are you so flustered over Natsu?_ _You were never like this before. Just take a breath and calm down._ The barmaid stopped and took a deep breath before continuing on her way. _Why did Natsu want me to come to the park this late? What does he have planned? A picnic maybe?_ She began to blush. _That would be a wonderful second date, but I don't think he is capable of something that romantic._ _Then again, if today is any indication, he does have a penchant for surprises._

Mirajane descended the stone stairs leading down to the park and saw Natsu bent down in front of the giant tree in the center. When she was close enough, she called to him. "Natsu?"

Natsu's ears perked up at sound of the barmaid's voice. He rose from the ground and turned to face Mirajane, his trademark smile on his lips. "Hey! You made it!" he waved.

Mirajane looked away from him, her blush returning. "Y-yeah. I did. I admit I was a little surprised when you suddenly asked me to meet you here."

"Really?" Natsu titled his head. "I thought we already planned to do something today."

"We did. I just thought we would have talked about it…privately." She blushed even more.

"Oh yeah." Natsu rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry about that. I guess I made a huge scene at the guild hall earlier, huh?"

"It's ok." Mirajane reassured.

_Man, first Erza and now Mirajane. Why is everyone acting so weird lately?_ Natsu pondered.

"Natsu?" Mirajane called again.

"Huh? Oh sorry, were you saying something?"

"Well I was wondering why you called me to the park."

"Oh that." Natsu smirked and slid his back foot behind him. He then raised his clenched fists. "Let's fight, Mira!" he challenged.

Both Mirajane and Erza – who was watching the pair from a nearby tree - were nearly floored by this sudden outburst. "What?" Mirajane asked in complete bewilderment.

_That idiot!_ Erza shouted internally. She facepalmed. _A fight is not an idea for a date…I think. _She had never been on a date before.

"I said let's fight." Natsu repeated to Mirajane. "It's been forever since we've had one."

"But why now all of a sudden?"

"Well I was thinking of something for us to do, and I'm not really a 'romantic' kind of guy. That stuff confuses me. So this is what I thought of. Did I mess something up?"

Mirajane looked into Natsu's innocent eyes and slowly began to smile. "No." she shook her head. "You didn't do anything wrong. In fact this is something only **you** would do."

"I guess so." Natsu laughed. Mirajane shared in his laughter, but Erza clutched her heart. She felt that pain again.

Mirajane looked down, finally taking notice of the ring of scorched grass around her and Natsu. "What's this for?" she pointed.

"I made a little arena for us to fight in." Natsu answered.

"Arena?"

Natsu nodded. "Yep. The first one to step outside of it loses."

Mirajane giggled. "Sounds fun. I should probably get ready then." The barmaid closed her eyes and her body was covered in dark energy. When it dissipated she was in her Satan Soul form.

"Going easy on me?" Natsu taunted.

Mirajane smirked, her devilish glare focused on the dragon slayer. "If I remember right, the last time we fought I didn't even **have** to transform."

"That was a long time ago." Natsu argued. "I've gotten way stronger since then." He pounded his flaming fists together to back up his claim.

"I'm sure you have, but I haven't been just sitting on my thumbs all these years either. How about this…" Mirajane held up her index finger. "If you can land one hit on me in this form, I'll change into Halphas." She then held up two fingers. "If you can hit me again, I'll change into Sitri."

Erza's eyes widened in shock. _What is Mirajane thinking?! Satan Soul alone is enough for a sparring match. If she changed into either Halphas or Sitri, she could kill Natsu!_ She tightened her grip on the tree. _I don't want to but…if things escalate I'll have to intervene._

"So what do you say?" Mirajane baited the dragon slayer. "Are you up for the challenge?"

Natsu could feel his body shaking with excitement. It had been forever since he had engaged in battle with Mirajane. He could barely contain himself. "You bet!" he accepted. He raced towards Mirajane, his fist drawn back. "I'll make you get serious!"

**_FIRE DRAGON IRON FIST_**

Mirajane held up her hand, catching Natsu's punch in her open palm. "You're going to try way harder than that."

Natsu freed himself and jumped back. "That was just a warm up punch!" Natsu took off again, taking three big steps before leaping into the air. He raised his leg up, coating it in flames.

**_FIRE DRAGON TALON_**

Natsu's heel collided with Mirajane's forearm, creating a shockwave that rumbled the entire park. Mirajane and Natsu grinned eagerly at one another before the demon pushed Natsu back. "Are you done warming up yet?" she taunted. Mirajane played confident, but her numbing forearm threatened to break that shell. _That actually hurt a bit. I shouldn't underestimate Natsu._

"Damn." Natsu cursed. "I thought I had you that time. Ok, no more games!" Natsu took off towards Mirajane once more, his increasing speed alarming the demonic barmaid. She swiped at him with her claws but Natsu ducked. He rose up and countered with an uppercut, but Mirajane stepped back. Thw warm winds blew against her face.

She gripped Natsu with her tail and threw him back but he managed to stop himself before he fell out of the ring. He looked to his feet, exhaling in relief at how close his heel was to the circle border. "That was close."

Suddenly Mirajane charged Natsu, attacking again with her tail. She swiped in all directions, but Natsu dodged all of them. _I forgot how fast Mira is!_ He looked back, seeing how close he was to the edge was once again. _Crap! I have to think of something quick or I'll lose._

Mirajane noticed the distress on his face and smiled. "Looks like I win. Too bad. I was hoping you'd make me change." Mirajane lapped her tail for one final strike, but was caught off-guard by Natsu jumping back and out of the circle. _What is he doing?!_

Natsu landed on the front of giant tree and pushed off, his body covered in flames.

_**FIRE DRAGON SWORD HORN**_

Natsu's head slammed into Mirajane's abdomen, causing the demon to gasp for air. Erza watched from behind the trees in astonishment. _He managed to hit her!_

Natsu fell back into the circle on all fours and looked to Mirajane – who had slid a few meters away – with a cocky grin. "That's one."

Mirajane held her stomach and rose upright. She spit out a drop of blood and returned Natsu's smirk. "That was a sneaky move."

"I said you had to **step** out of the circle." Natsu reminded. "I jumped."

"You're right." Mirajane agreed. "And a deal is a deal." She took a deep breath and a magic circle appeared over her head. It bathed her in a golden light, transforming her into her Halphas form. "Get ready. Things are going to get a little bit harder from here."

Natsu relished the challenge. "Bring it on."

Erza prepared herself to jump into the fight. _Natsu managed to get Mirajane into Halphas. She won't allow him to get to Sitri._

Mirajane took one step forward and disappeared, surprising Natsu.

"Where did she go?"

"Here."

Natsu turned around only to be hit with a punch that sent him flying back. He managed to block, but the force of Mirajane's strike still rattled his bones. _Damn! Feels like she broke both of my arms._ He slid along the ground and once again found the demon standing over him. She reached down but Natsu rolled out of way. He pushed off of his foot and went for a kick, but Mirajane grabbed his ankle and slammed him to the ground. Natsu gasped when his back crashed against the dirt.

Erza winced at the impact. _Mirajane is going too hard on him._

Mirajane stepped back and folded her arms. "Don't tell me that's all you have." She insisted. She could feel her old personality surfacing. "You wanted this, Natsu. You can't quit on me now. So are you going to admit defeat, or are you going to be a man and stand up?"

_My entire body is aching, but I'm not going to lose._ Natsu proclaimed. He moved his legs and gingerly made it to his feet. "I'm…far…from done."

Mirajane smirked. "I appreciate your tenacity, but your body says otherwise."

Natsu felt a tingling in his back that slowly flowed throughout his body, forcing him to stand upright.

Mirajane's eyes narrowed at the sight. _What's this feeling?_

"I'll make you use Sitri." Natsu declared. He then inhaled.

_**FIRE DRAGON ROAR**_

Mirajane's eyes went wide and she instantly took flight, avoiding the torrent of fire. She watched the flames disperse from the sky above, her eyes still wide. "That was stronger than his normal roar. If that had hit me I would have had to change to just defend." She looked down to Natsu. "Was he always this strong?"

"Where did Natsu get this much power?" Erza gasped.

Natsu snapped his fingers in irritation. "Damn, I missed." He then looked up to Mirajane. "Running away?!" he called.

"Just regrouping!" she retorted. _I have to end this quickly, otherwise he'll destroy the whole park._ She clenched her fist, to her mild surprise, it was shaking. _I guess I'm actually enjoying this._ She thought. _It's been forever since I've had a battle like this._ Mirajane descended in front of Natsu. "Ok, Natsu. I'm going to end this before things get too crazy."

"Bring it."

Mirajane sped towards Natsu and reached back her fist. She lunged for a punch, but Natsu moved his head. Natsu clenched his fist and aimed for the demon's stomach, but in retaliation for his earlier maneuver Mirajane blocked it. The two looked at one another with confident grins before unleashing a close-quarter salvo on one another. They dodged and parried each blow thrown, but there was one notable exception: while Mirajane landed a good amount of her counters, Natsu had yet to land any.

He clenched his teeth when Mirajane's knee hit his guard. _I haven't been able to land anything. At this rate she's gonna beat me!_

_Natsu's gotten really strong since last we fought._ Mirajane smiled internally. _Honestly,_ _I wouldn't mind doing this with him much longer._ She looked to the worn dragon slayer. _Too bad. He looks like he's reached his limit._

_I only have one shot left._ Natsu ignited both of his hands and raised them overhead.

"You're open!" Mirajane called, zooming towards him.

_**FIRE DRAGON BRILLIANT FLAME**_

Natsu threw the fireball he created to the ground, creating a giant smokescreen that blinded Mirajane. The demon used her wings to disperse the smoke, but was shocked to see Natsu directly in front of her with his fist pulled back.

"This is two!" he lunged forward, but was blinded by a light only he could see. When it faded he saw the card again. _It's that same card from a few days ago. _He thought in surprise.

Mirajane noticed Natsu's hesitation and moved her head out of the way before kicking the dragon slayer hard in the stomach. Natsu coughed up blood, his pupils fading away as he flew out of the circle and into the nearest slope with a thunderous crash. Realizing what she had done, Mirajane quickly changed back to normal. "Oh no!" Mirajane gasped. "I should have held back."

"Natsu!" Erza cried out. She ran from the trees to his side, completely ignoring Mirajane. The barmaid followed her without as much as a word of protest.

When they reached the downed dragon slayer they saw he was lying in a small crater, his eyes closed and marks from the battle all over his body.

"Oh no, Natsu." Mirajane worried.

"You went too far, Mirajane." Erza scolded. "What were you thinking using Halphas against him? You could have killed him."

"Natsu isn't a baby, Erza. He can handle himself in a battle." Mirajane defended. She felt guilty for what happened of course, but she was not going to let Erza make her feel worse.

"Even so, you should have held back."

Mirajane shook her head. "I'm not going to do that to him. If Natsu wanted me to give my best then that's what I'm going to do." She glared at Erza. "This is the second time you followed us."

Erza blushed in embarrassment. "What are you talking about? I did no such thing. I just happened to be passing through when I spotted the both of you."

Mirajane was not convinced by Erza's obvious lie. "You said you didn't have feelings for him."

"I don't." Erza denied.

"Then why do you keep following us around? If you're jealous and have feelings for him then just be honest with me."

Erza was at a loss for words. Part of her wanted to come right out and say what she felt, but the truth was she didn't really know what she felt. "I-I don't-"

Mirajane sighed in exasperation and looked down at the unconscious dragon slayer. "I'm not going to lie to him…about anything. I'm not going to lose to you, Erza."

Erza's eyes went wide. "Mirajane, what are you-"

"We should try and wake him up."

"R-right."

The two young women looked down to Natsu, each calling his name.

* * *

Natsu opened his eyes to a clear blue sky above. He sat up, wincing and placing his hand on his aching abdomen. "Ow. Mira really did a number on me." He then sulked. "I didn't make her change into Sitri. Speaking of Mira…" Natsu looked around, seeing nothing but clouds and blue sky. "Where did she go?" He felt the surface he was sitting on and looked down. It appeared to be a cloud. "Actually where am I?"

"It's been a while. I was starting to get lonely."

Natsu looked to his left, seeing a familiar head of gray hair. He twisted his face in irritation. _Great. I'm back here again. _He stood up and walked to Betty.

"Hey there." She smiled.

"Yo." Natsu replied with a wave. He sat down next to the elderly woman.

"Someone is a sour puss." Betty teased.

"I've been trying to talk to you for a week, but you didn't answer."

"Sorry, Natsu, but it doesn't work that way. These talks are a one way street. You only come here when I summon you, not the other way around."

"That's stupid."

"That may be, but those are the rules, kid. You got the next card I presume?"

"Yeah." Natsu sighed. He reached into his pocket, pulled it out, and handed it to elderly woman.

Betty looked the card over, taking extra notice of the picture on the card. It depicted what looked to be a woman in regal dress holding a scepter and a shield, both adorned in gold. "Looks like you lucked out again with this one." Betty handed the card back to Natsu.

The dragon slayer took it back. "What do you mean? What's this one?"

"The Empress. One of the most powerful cards in the Arcana."

Natsu gazed at the card with widened eyes. "Really?"

"Yep." Betty exhaled a plume of smoke from her nostrils. The fumes made Natsu cough, but the old woman ignored him. "The Empress is an impressive arcana. It's usually found in women, for the obvious reason. Empress possessors have a motherly quality to them. They encourage others around them and help them grow and change. They are also very intuitive."

"Intuitive?" Natsu tilted his head in confusion.

"Means they can see through lies in a sense. Also means they're nosy. Ain't no hiding anything from them."

Natsu stroked his chin and looked at the sky. "Yeah, that definitely sounds like Mira."

Betty laughed.

"What?" Natsu asked.

Betty exhaled more smoke. "It's nothin. I think you're gonna be just fine if you keep going at this pace." She stood up. "Welp, time for you to go back."

"Wait. Wait. Wait." Natsu said. "I have another question."

Betty looked to her empty wrist. Natsu assumed she was checking a watch, but nothing was there. _What's wrong with this old lady?_

"I guess you got some time left." Betty shrugged. "What's your question?"

"This." Natsu turned around and removed his vest, showing the tattoo on his back. "What is this thing? It showed up after I got that first card."

"That's your mark."

"My what?"

"Mark." Betty repeated. "It shows up after you've gotten another arcana. You'll probably gonna get more of those in the future."

"Will it hurt?" Natsu winced.

"You get used it to it, you big baby. How can you fight demons and such, but be afraid of a little burn? Now put your clothes back on. This isn't a brothel."

"Yes ma'am." _Why did I just say that?_ Natsu put his vest back on and stood to face Betty. "Will it ever go away?"

"As long as you have the Arcana, no. The only way you would lose the mark is if you happen to lose your Arcana."

"How would that happen?"

"My, you're curious today." Betty grinned.

"Well I think I might as well learn as much as I can about what's going on with me."

"Smart boy."

"Yeah. So how do I lose an Arcana?"

"Well death is the most obvious way, but there is also an instance if the Arcana breaks its connection with you."

"Breaks its connection?"

"If one of your Arcana distances themselves from you. Whether it be through their own will or not, it will break the connection you have with that person. Losing one is no big deal but…" Betty's expression slowly turned to one of sorrow. This surprised Natsu. "Let's just say that you don't want to lose any of them."

"Oh, ok." Natsu nodded. He wanted to the elderly woman to explain further, but he could tell from the look on her face that it was subject best tabled for another time.

Betty noticed her own sorrowful state and brightened. "Look at me getting all gloomy. Must be the smoke. I really should quit. One more thing about the mark."

"What is it?"

"Whenever you're near the person the mark belongs to, you'll find yourself getting a little pick me up."

"Pick me up?"

"You didn't feel a tingling when you were fighting that demon girl?"

Natsu thought back to his battle with Mirajane and his eyes widened. "Yeah, I did."

"Looks like someone was watching you two." Betty grinned mischievously.

_Erza was there?_ Natsu wondered. "But why would Erza be there?"

"Sounds like something you have to ask her." Betty then pointed at Natsu's chest, her finger beginning to glow. "Time's up, dragon boy. Time to go back."

"One last thing." Natsu said. "Can you tell me which Arcana is next?"

"I would if I could, but I don't know. That's the fun thing." Betty smiled. "Till next time."

She poked Natsu's chest and everything went white. When the dragon slayer came to, he could hear two familiar voices talking from above him.

"He's coming to." The first voice belonged to Erza.

"Thank goodness." The second belonged to Mirajane.

Natsu's eyes adjusted to the shining light of the moon. "I'm back…" he muttered.

"Natsu?" Mirajane called. He looked to the barmaid's smiling face. "I'm sorry I hit you so hard. I didn't mean to put that much power into it." she apologized.

"You hit me?" Natsu remembered what happened just before meeting Betty. He then smiled in reassurance. "Don't worry about it. You got me good. It just sucks that I couldn't land a second hit."

"Actually." Mirajane moved her hair away, revealing a small cut on her left cheek.

"Are you ok?" Natsu asked.

"I'm fine." The barmaid giggled. "You should be more worried about yourself, but congratulations. You landed two hits on me. As a reward the next time we fight, I'll start in Sitri."

"Next time?"

Mirajane nodded with a blush. "It's been a long time since I've had such fun battling someone…it felt good."

Natsu blushed. "T-that's good. Glad I could help."

"So am I." Mirajane smiled.

Natsu turned his head to the left and saw Erza. "So you **were** here."

"I apologize for following the both of you. I shouldn't have been prying in your private affairs." Erza closed her eyes and bowed her head. "Please, forgive me."

Natsu answered her apology with a smile. "Don't worry about it. I should actually thank you for helping me out earlier."

"What do you-"Erza opened her eyes but stopped her question short when she noticed how close her face was to Natsu's. A few centimeters lower and they could have kissed. Mirajane was none too happy with the scene. Realizing her position, Erza quickly sat up. "Sorry!"

"It's no big deal." Natsu replied with a hint of confusion. "I said you don't have to apologize." Natsu repositioned his head, unknowingly causing both girls to tense up. "Where did you guys get this pillow?" he asked with a smile. "It's really soft."

"Actually…' Erza began with cheeks as red as her hair.

"That's not a pillow." Mirajane finished, her face just as red as the knight's.

"What are you talking about?" Natsu asked. "Then what else could it be?" He reached his hands up, feeling the soft sides of his "pillow". As he squeezed, he could feel a faint warmth on his palms. He also heard faint moans from both Mirajane and Erza. "What the hell?" He squeezed harder.

"Natsu…"Erza uttered.

"That's too rough." Mirajane managed.

Natsu sat up and looked down, his face turning redder than both of the girls' faces. He wasn't lying on pillow, but instead both of their laps. He quickly stood up in fear and embarrassment, though more of the former than the latter. "S-sorry!" he apologized. "I gotta go! I'll see you guys tomorrow!" he ran off into the night, leaving Mirajane and Erza behind.

"Well that was no fun." Mirajane giggled. "I actually didn't mind that."

"I-I don't want to lose to you either…" Erza finally muttered.

"What?" Mirajane looked to Erza, noticing the embarrassed look on her face that was barely hidden by her long red hair.

The barmaid smiled softly. Looks like she's ready to take a step. Now we can have a bit of fun. "Fine." Mirajane grinned. "Then it'll be just like the old days. Who will catch the dragon first?"

"I accept the challenge." Erza said with a confident grin.

* * *

**Here is the end of Mirajane's story (for now). Took quite a while to write this one, hopefully it was worth it. **

**In case anyone has checked it out yet, the poll for girl three is on my profile now. I'll be closing it the 18th, so hurry and vote for who you want next!**

**As always, leave a review telling what you think and Thanks for reading! :)**


	6. Devil's Brew I

**And Girl #3 is *drum roll*...CANA ALBERONA. Enjoy!**

* * *

It had been a long night.

A really long night if the bottles on the ground were any indicator. The offending rays of the sun penetrated the sanctuary of a room located on the first floor of the Fairy Hills dormitory. A slim brunette groaned in annoyance, turning away from the assertive star and covering her face with her pillow. Finding herself unable to regain sleep, she soon rose out of bed.

"Damn…I didn't think I drank that much last night." Cana clutched her head. Another hangover had greeted her this morning. "Maybe I **should** start watching my alcohol." She looked to the sun through her window, her violet eyes narrowing in annoyance. "This is all your fault." She accused.

She rose from her bed – with nothing but her lingerie – and walked past the wicker moon chair next to her dresser drawer, to her room door, and entered the main hall. When she passed by the kitchen she saw Levy fixing herself a cup of tea.

"Morning." She yawned.

"Good morning, Ca-"Levy nearly dropped her cup when she saw the fortuneteller's state of undress. "Why are you only in your underwear?!" she shrieked.

"Does it really matter?" Cana replied. "There's no one here but us girls."

"That's not the point." Levy hissed, her cheeks growing redder.

"For goodness sake, woman, put on some clothes." Carla scolded.

Cana looked to the table in the kitchen and saw the irritated tabby paws covering a blushing Wendy's eyes. Cana grinned and kept on her path. "Hopefully one day you'll get a body that will drop them dead, Wendy."

Wendy's blush deepened as Cana walked away. Carla sighed in frustration.

Cana sunk slowly into the warm waters of the open air bath, hoping that it would soothe her aching skull. It did very little. When she finished in the bath she dried herself off, wrapped her body and hair in towels, and walked back to her room. When she passed by the kitchen a second time, she noticed the others were gone. _They must have left for the guild hall already._ When she reentered her room she walked to her dresser drawer and shuffled through her underwear for something to wear.

"Hmmm." Cana grabbed a pair of black lace panties and held them up to the light. "I guess these'll work." She closed the drawer and slowly rose the lace undergarments up her slim legs. She then grabbed a black and white bikini top, fixing it appropriately on her generous bosom. Just before she could grab her cargo capris, she saw a stirring in her bed. Realizing it was nothing special she finished dressing herself. "You're still here?" she asked with mild surprise.

A man with silky black hair – and a body that would give Gray a run for his money - rose from the other spot on her bed. He yawned loudly, stretching his arms above his head as he turned to look at his beautiful host. A grin - charming in the eyes of most women- tugged at his lips as he watched her brush her long brown hair. "That was amazing." He complimented. He clearly remembered what happened between them the previous night.

"Glad you thought so." She replied. His compliment and charm were ineffective on her...while sober. Her tone was apathetic at best, but he didn't notice. To be honest, she didn't even remember his name. She narrowed her options down to "guy" and "buddy". She even thought about throwing "pal" in there if she was bold enough.

"You wanna go get some breakfast or something?" "Guy" offered.

"Sorry, got a lot of errands to run today." Cana lied, trying her best to fake regret. She began putting on her various bracelets.

"Oh yeah, that's right." "Buddy" remembered. "You mentioned at the bar last night that you were a wizard, right? You probably got a lot of guild stuff to do."

"Yep. Lot of bad guys to chase down. Old people to help. Very taxing stuff." Cana looked in the mirror and fixed her hair one more time.

"Well if you're free later maybe we can-"

"Make sure you close the window when you leave, ok? My landlady would kill me if she found out I brought a guy here."

"Huh?" "Pal" was more than confused at the brunette's standoffish behavior. She couldn't get enough of him at the bar. "But-"

"See ya later." She winked at him before stepping out of her room and closing the door behind herself. She knew that "Guy" would probably be less than ecstatic about her quick exit, but Cana didn't care. To her it was just fun – it was barely even that if she was being honest. Every so often she would invite a guy over in the cover of darkness and have "fun". It was never anything frequent - at most once or twice a month every couple of months – but things were starting to grow stale. Cana Alberona wanted something different. Something…unexpected.

* * *

Natsu lounged in his normal seat along with the rest of his team. He had gotten to the guild fairly early all things considered, but not before noticing a new tattoo on his back before he left home. Unlike the first one this one didn't hurt at all, in fact Natsu didn't even notice it until Happy pointed it out to him that morning.

Said tattoo was directly under the first one he had received, but was of three vertical lines next to one another. Natsu thought the first one was some sort of spell being cast on him, but after the dealings with Mirajane a couple of days prior he was starting to see a pattern. _Am I going to get a new tattoo every time I get another arcana?_ He wondered. He absentmindedly watched the others talk amongst themselves until they noticed that one person was missing from their merry little group. Lucy was the first to speak.

"Where's Erza? She's usually here by now."

"Ms. Mira is gone too." Wendy pointed out. The young girl realized the barmaid's absence when she and Carla were greeted by Kinana at the doors instead of the oldest Strauss sibling.

"Who knows?" Gray shrugged. Juvia was missing from the Ice wizard's arm today, but it was unrelated to Erza and Mirajane's absences. The rain woman had been dragged on a job by Gajeel. Gray found himself internally grateful for the break.

"Erza left on a job last night so she'll be gone all morning, and Mira had another photoshoot." Natsu explained, much to the surprise of his friends.

"How in the world do you know that?" Carla inquired.

"Both of them came by my place and told me."

"They what?!" Lucy, Carla, and Gray exclaimed in unison. Wendy sat wide-eyed.

"Y-yeah." Natsu nodded, slightly unnerved at the reaction. "They came around sundown yesterday and told me."

The stunned members of Team Natsu turned to Happy - snacking on a mackerel – who looked up at them and nodded in confirmation of Natsu's story. "Aye. Erza came first. Then Mira." He mumbled through a mouthful of fish. "They even asked if he wanted to go with them, but they were kinda sad when he turned them down."

"Why didn't you go?" Gray asked. He didn't really care. He was just trying to drum up conversation.

"I don't know." Natsu shrugged. "Just didn't see a reason to. Erza was pretty pissed though." Natsu rubbed the back of his head. It was still sore from the punch Erza had given him after he turned her down.

Gray sighed in exasperation and leaned back in his seat. Once again Natsu was too oblivious for his own good. "You're a complete idiot."

"What did you say, you slanty-eyed streaker?!" Natsu demanded.

"You heard me, you droopy-eyed pyro!" Gray retorted.

As Gray and Natsu began their own morning routine, Cana strolled into the guild hall. "Morning, everybody!"

"Good morning, Cana!" Kinana greeted. "The usual?"

The fortuneteller smiled and she made her way to the bar. "You know it. You know just how to treat a girl, Kinana."

"You left pretty early from the guild hall yesterday." Macao commented as the brunette passed by his and Wakaba's table.

"Keeping tabs on me?" Cana teased. "I didn't know you were interested."

"Don't flatter yourself." Macao smirked. "I was just saying. Had a little 'fun' again?"

"If you could call it that."

"That bad?"

"Not really, just boring."

"You're gonna end up getting in over your head one of these days." Macao warned.

Cana smirked in reply. "Thanks, Gildarts. I'll try and keep my heart under lock and key." Their barbs exchanged for the time being, Cana took her usual stool at the bar and received her morning libation from Kinana.

Wendy – having overheard the conversation between Cana and Macao – found herself lost at their use of innuendos. "What did Mr. Macao mean by 'fun'?" she asked Lucy.

Lucy smiled and managed to eke out a small laugh of nervousness. "I think that's a bit…adult for you right now."

Wendy was even more confused by Lucy's avoidance of the subject.

"At least she put on clothes before coming here." Carla commented.

Natsu – still engaged in his battle for forehead territory with Gray – caught a glimpse of Cana and quickly shifted his focus. The strafe of his head caused Gray to fall flat on his face on the wooden table. "Nice! Cana's here!" Natsu smiled.

"Were you waiting on her?" Lucy asked in genuine curiosity. She couldn't recall a single time Natsu and Cana exchanged words with one another.

"Not really, but since she's here there is something I wanna ask her about." Natsu stepped out from the booth and walked to the bar, leaving behind an even angrier Gray.

"Where the hell are you going, smog breath?! We're not done yet!"

"Let it go." Carla sighed. "He's long gone."

"Aye." Happy added.

"Also…please put on a shirt." Lucy advised.

Natsu approached Cana. Though she looked content, Natsu could see a faint hint of sorrow in her eyes. Though he didn't know exactly how he could see it. Not knowing much about the card wizard, Natsu decided not to pry too much into what was only speculation at this point. Instead he posed his prepared query. "Hey, Cana."

The brunette looked from her mug with a small amount of surprise at who had come to talk to her, but smiled nonetheless. "Hey, Natsu. Come to join me for a drink? I didn't think you were the type."

"Nah." Natsu declined. "It's still early."

"You're no fun." Cana joked with a fake pout. "Oh well, more for me."

"I actually had something to ask you."

"Me?" Cana was slightly taken aback by Natsu's request. The two hadn't really spoken to one another during their tenure in Fairy Tail. It wasn't that they didn't like one another, it was just a matter of personal preference. Natsu liked to fight, and Cana liked to drink. Go beyond that and the two had less than nothing in common.

"Yeah." Natsu nodded. "You mind?"

"No, I don't mind." She put her mug down. "I'll try and be of whatever use I can."

"Thanks. I need to know about this thing called the Arcana. Can you help me out?"

Once again Cana found herself surprised by Natsu. _How does he know about magic that old?_ "What do you want to know about it?"

"I guess just the origins of it and stuff."

"That's some pretty ancient magic you're dabbling in. May I ask why you're so curious about it?"

"No reason." Natsu smiled nervously. He had no idea why he just lied to Cana. Perhaps it was because he felt that if he told her about his experiences with the Arcana, she would think he was crazy. Either way she seemed to accept his answer.

Cana pulled out her deck of cards and placed them on the bar top. "You might wanna sit down. This may take a while."

"Alright." Natsu nodded and sat on the stool next to Cana.

"Natsu…"

"Yeah?" the dragon slayer replied, his eyes on the cards.

"You're a little close."

"Hm?" Natsu looked from the bar top and saw just how close Cana's face was to his own. Their noses were nearly touching. Her breath was warm and - despite the alcohol - sweet. Realizing the situation Natsu quickly hopped to the next stool over, giving him and Cana more than enough space. "Sorry."

"It's ok." Cana waved off with a giggle. "Now let's get started." She waved her hand over her deck of cards, making it glow a pale blue. Eight cards came out from the deck and arranged themselves face down into two rows. Four on the top row and four in the bottom row. The glowing of the cards then slowly faded.

"Whoa." Natsu gasped. "That was pretty cool."

Cana grinned at his compliment. "That was an easy trick. I can show you some more whenever you want, but let's get back on topic."

"I'm listening." Natsu nodded. He sat up straight and attentive, resembling a student eagerly awaiting his teacher's lesson. In a way he was.

Cana internally giggled at his demeanor. _Cute._ She then refocused and began her lesson. "The Arcana are an ancient form of magic that was used ages ago by wizards in order to tell fortunes, or in some cases, foresee future events. Some believed that the Arcana represented the stages that all humans encounter throughout their lives. Sort of like spiritual self-awareness and things of that nature." She could tell by the look on Natsu's face that he was completely lost, but she continued. "They were mostly used in tarot readings."

"Tarot readings?" Natsu questioned.

"In a nutshell, telling someone's fortune."

"I think I get it."

"Sure you do, but I'll pretend to accept that and keep going." Cana grinned.

"Thanks." Natsu sighed in relief.

"There are both major and minor arcana, but I'll just focus on eight of the major ones for now." She reached for the card on the furthest left on the top row and turned it. It was one Natsu had seen before. "This arcana is-"

"The fool." Natsu finished.

"Y-yeah." Cana blinked in surprise. "That's right."

"I already know about that one." Natsu said. "Along with Strength and the Empress. So can we just skip those three?"

Cana chuckled. "Sure. You're the one who asked for information." For sequence sake she turned over the next two cards, which happened to be both the strength and empress arcana. She moved to the last card on the first row, but not before looking at Natsu quizzically. _I thought him asking about the Arcana was weird enough, but he's already familiar with three of them?_ _Now I'm curious._

"Cana?" Natsu called, pulling her out of her head. "You ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just got lost in thought for a bit."

"Are you going to flip that next card?" Natsu pointed.

"Hm?" Cana looked down, seeing her hand resting on the last face down card in the first row. "Oh Yeah. Sorry." She flipped the card over and Natsu was almost shocked out of his seat at the image. It was a demon with horns, bat wings, and goat legs sitting on what appeared to be some sort of throne. Above the monster's head was an upside down pentagram, but the most striking thing on the card were the two people – a man and a woman - standing at the feet of the demon. They were both chained by the neck to the demon's chair. They also had small horns on their head. "Scary isn't it?" Cana teased, noticing the look on Natsu's face.

"It's really freaky." Natsu nodded. "What is it?"

"This is the Devil Arcana."

"Devil Arcana." Natsu repeated. He stared intently at the card while Cana continued her explanation.

"It's a symbol of temptation. Those who represent it are usually selfish people who only care for their own desires, but that's not always the case. For every negative there is a positive, or an inverse."

Natsu raised an eyebrow and looked to Cana again. "Inverse?"

"Yep." Cana nodded and turned the card upside down.

"Why did you do that?"

"Because this is the inverse of the Devil Arcana."

"I don't get it. The card looks the same to me."

Cana chuckled again. "It's not about the card changing in appearance. It's about what it represents."

"I'm still lost."

"I understand it's a lot to process. I'll try and simplify it. When the Devil is turned right side up…" she returned the card to its original position. "It represents addiction. Lust. Obsession with an idea or some external force and things like that. It holds you back from things you **need** to do, by making you focus on what you **want** to do. It's like a scapegoat. It's a way to blame something else for your troubles. Likewise when it's inversed…" she turned the card upside down once more. "It represents freeing yourself from these attachments and forming healthy relationships. Essentially moving forward."

Natsu thought hard about Cana's words and nodded slowly. "I kinda get it, but how do you know what an…inverse means?"

"That's where I come in." Cana boasted. "I specialize in this sort of thing."

"Why did you choose this kind of magic? It seems really confusing."

Cana's smiled briefly wavered. "I don't know." She lied. "Guess I just liked playing with cards. Let's move on."

Natsu noticed the deflection, but chose not to call her out on it.

Cana flipped over the card directly under the upside-down Devil. This card had a picture of heart with what looked to be roots extending down into a tree with no leaves. Before the tree stood a man and woman. There was also the sun shining above the heart. "This is the Lovers Arcana. Like its namesake, it represents a pure love born between two people. Inverted it means that the pair is forced together through one outstanding circumstance or another. I guess you could say that their love is 'unnatural'."

"Unnatural." Natsu repeated.

Cana flipped over the card next to the Lovers. This card depicted a woman in regal garb – similar to the woman on the Empress Arcana – on her hat was the letter B, while swooping around her eye was the letter J. "This is the Priestess, or High Priestess. Whatever floats your boat. It generally represents knowledge and wisdom. Inverted it represents someone indecisive and lacking the ability to **use** that knowledge."

Natsu nodded and Cana flipped over the next card. This one was much simpler than the others, only depicting a star with a face on it.

"The Star Arcana." Cana explained. "Mostly associated with those who are hopeful and nice to others. They always see the light even where there is none. The flip side of this is usually a person having despair and doubt within themselves. It also symbolizes a loss of hope."

Natsu nodded again. He was trying his best to keep up with Cana's explanations, but the constant flow of information was beginning to overload his brain. Nonetheless he watched as Cana turned over the final card in the sequence. This one depicted a sword pointed upwards and placed upon some sort of wheel.

"The Fortune, or Wheel of Fortune, Arcana. Basically symbolizes luck and seizing your own destiny through personal change and patience. Its inverse represents rushing into things and trying to force a change to take place. Got it?"

"Got it." Natsu confirmed.

"Then that concludes our crash course on Arcana." The brunette waved her hands over the cards and they went back into the deck. She then placed the deck back in her bag. She looked at the perplexed look on the dragon slayer's face and chuckled. "You ok over there, Natsu?"

"Yeah." The dragon slayer nodded sternly. "Just trying to remember all of this stuff. Say, Cana, how many Arcana are there?"

"22 Major and 4 Minor." She answered, grabbing her mug and taking a sip while Natsu adjusted to the shocking information. "Aw man." She groaned, looking at her beer. "It's warm."

"26?!" Natsu blurted out after figuring out the math. _Does that mean I have to get them all?_ He began to picture the process and his head began to hurt all over again. "That's way too many!"

"I don't know what you're yelling about, but here." Cana handed Natsu a piece of paper. It detailed the information on the eight Arcana she just showed him. It also included what the inverses and normal meanings were. "If you have any problem with those notes, just come see me and I'll explain it again…for a drink." She winked.

Natsu took the paper as if it was being handed to him by a goddess. "Awesome! Thanks, Cana." He smiled greatfully. "I owe you one."

"Be careful, dragon boy." She grinned. "I may just hold you to that."

Natsu hopped from his stool and thanked Cana once again before returning to his table. Cana watched him walk away for a bit before returning to her beverage. "Hey, Kinana! Can I get another, please?!"

"Coming right up~!" the interim barmaid sang.

"Well Natsu managed to cure my boredom for a little bit, but now it's back to square one." Cana sighed.

Kinana walked over with Cana's refill. "I don't mean to eavesdrop, but if you're bored, how about taking on a job?" she suggested.

"I guess I could do that." Cana accepted. "It has been a little while since my last one. Thanks, Kinana." she smiled. "Beauty and brains all in one package."

The purple-haired barmaid blushed. "It's no problem."

After finishing her drink Cana walked to the request board and began to scan through the jobs. After a few minutes of searching, she found a request in the top right corner of the board that caught her eye. "This looks interesting." She grabbed it from the board and read it to herself.

**URGENT REQUEST!**

**WIZARDS NEEDED TO GUARD PRICELESS HEIRLOOM!**

**REWARD: 900,000 JEWEL**

Cana whistled. "That's a pretty big reward. I'll take it." She walked to Kinana and showed her the posting. "I'm going to head out."

"Wait." Kinana called. "Who is going with you?"

"What do you mean? I'm going alone."

"But the job asks for one male and one female wizard."

"What? Where?"

"Here." Kinana pointed to a line of print just below the reward. There was an asterisk next to it and it was small, but sure enough Kinana was right. Cana needed a partner.

"Great." She groaned. Cana looked around, analyzing what was left to pick from among the men in the guild. She found no suitable candidates, until she remembered the words of a certain dragon slayer. With a mischievous grin on her lips, she walked to Natsu's table.

Natsu was chatting with Lucy and Wendy – Gray had just recently left on a job with Shadow Gear – when Cana approached them. She leaned over the back of the chair Natsu was sitting in.

"Hey, Cana, what's going on?" Lucy asked.

"Oh nothing." The lush smiled. "I just need to borrow Natsu for a bit."

"Me?" Natsu craned his neck to look up at Cana. "What's up?"

"I'm going to cash in that favor you owe me earlier than expected." She smiled.

For some strange reason, Natsu felt a twinge of fear creep up his spine. "Oh...ok." he replied. From the look in her eyes, it felt as if Cana was going to eat him alive.

* * *

The last train slowly rolled into Magnolia Station as the sun painted the sky overhead a brilliant mix of burnt orange and red. From out the train stepped two beautiful women. One with hair as red as the rose tint on her cheeks, and the other with locks as pure white as fresh snow.

"We're finally back." Mirajane stretched.

"That train ride did seem to take forever." Erza commented.

After finishing their respective tasks for the day, the two Fairy Tail wizards were pleasantly surprised to see one another on the train departing from Oshibana station – Mirajane having gotten on in Crocus before Erza even showed up – and decided to ride home together.

Mirajane looked at the clock in the station. "The guild should still be open." she looked back to Erza. "We can go there and I'll report your job completion to the Master."

"A fine idea. Let's go." Erza agreed.

The barmaid led the way through town - with brief tales of her photoshoot to keep things from getting boring - and soon the two had returned to the Fairy Tail guild hall. They pushed the doors open, greeted by the smiles of their friends.

"Welcome back." Kinana said to the pair.

"I'll go give your report." Mirajane said to Erza.

"Thank you." The knight replied. With that the two went their separate ways. Erza went to sit with her team, while Mirajane headed over to the bar.

"Welcome back, Erza." Wendy greeted.

"Thank you, Wendy." Erza smiled and sat down next to Lucy.

"How was the job?" the blonde inquired.

"Nothing too stressful." Erza answered. "I was tasked with helping a village in the south dig a ditch for their irrigation system."

"That sounds like quite the ordeal." Carla remarked as she sipped from her teacup.

"One would think, but it wasn't so bad." Erza said. "Thankfully the village was small. With my Flight Armor it only took me around four hours to complete the job."

"Being a re-quip wizard sure has its perks." Lucy laughed.

"Aye." Happy agreed. "But it is Erza we're talking about."

"Where's Gray?" Erza asked. "I didn't see him when I came in."

"He left on a job." Lucy answered. "He said he'd be back tomorrow."

"I see." Erza nodded. She looked around the table again, noticing someone else was also missing.

Mirajane walked behind the bar with a regretful smile. "I'm sorry I left you all alone, Kinana." She apologized. "I hope things didn't get too hectic for you."

"It was no trouble." The snake-girl waved off with a smile. "Most everyone went on jobs today so it wasn't as busy as usual."

"**That's** why it's so empty in here." Mirajane marveled in realization. She looked through the nearly deserted guild hall before her smile brightened. "At least everyone is working."

"I'll say." Kinana laughed. "That means we get to take a break."

"You're right." The senior barmaid giggled in agreement.

In a moment that was much too odd to be considered coincidental, both Mirajane and Erza asked their respective companions the same question:

"Where is Natsu?"

"He went on a job with Cana a couple of hours before you showed up." Lucy answered Erza.

"I think she said they would be back tomorrow afternoon." Kinana finished explaining to Mirajane.

Both Erza and Mirajane's eyes slowly widened, prompting them to shout in unison once more: "Natsu went on a job with Cana?!"

* * *

The lights shimmered from the glass of the chandelier overhead as the cacophonous sounds of casual conversation about various highbrow topics bounced from the tile walls of the hall, nearly drowning out the sounds of the live orchestra. As far as the eye could see, wealthy socialites from all corners of Fiore wore masks to conceal their identities from one another. In the middle of this wealthy confusion were Natsu Dragneel and Cana Alberona.

"Do we really have to be here for this? We could have just waited from outside like the guy suggested." The irritated dragon slayer tugged on the collar of his stuffy tuxedo. It was somewhat normal attire for the ball he was attending, but he hated it. A black jacket and black pants with a red vest underneath, and a red bowtie tied under the collar of his white undershirt. Capping it off was the mask he was wearing. It was deep red, nearly crimson, and flared out and upwards at the end, stopping just short of Natsu's ears. The nose piece was also slightly longer than Natsu's actual nose. From a distance it resembled a dragon's face. "This thing is so annoying." Natsu fidgeted with his mask. He hated formal wear. It looked stupid to him, and it also restricted him if ever a battle were to break out – which normally did in his experience – and the fact that his trademark scarf was absent only made him more disgruntled.

"Stop pouting." Cana said, lightly slapping his hand away from his mask. "Try and live it up a little." The brunette was wearing a red and black sleeveless ball gown that billowed at the bottom so you couldn't see her feet. She also sported black gloves that stopped right at her elbow while hold her black mask up to her face by a stick. She looked elegant in her gown, having been gazed upon – as well as complimented – by several men at the ball. Cana admitted she wasn't complaining about the attention, but she found herself slightly peeved that Natsu had yet to compliment on how she looked. Unbeknownst to her he had been stealing glances all night.

"Do you think he'll show up?" Natsu asked.

"That's what the letter said." Cana said.

The unlikely pair were tasked with the protection of an heirloom belonging to the prestigious Eldarod family of Crocus called the "Duke's Brace". It was an ancient – gaudy by Cana's admission – bracelet that had been passed down through the family for hundreds of years.

Recently the patriarch of the family - Duke Eldarod XIV - had received a letter from a thief known as the "Shadow Driver" detailing just when and where he would steal the precious item. Recognizing that the thief had already stolen valuables from other wealthy families in the area, he immediately sought out help from Fairy Tail.

Cana watched the party goers carefully for any suspicious behavior before a waiter walked by with a tray of champagne glasses. She reached for a glass. "I'll take one."

"Of course madam." The waiter stopped, allowing Cana to grab her drink.

"Thank you." She smiled politely.

"You are quite welcome madam." The waiter resumed his course and Cana took a sip of the drink.

She hummed in satisfaction at the taste of the liquid before looking over to Natsu. She was amused by the agitated look in his eyes. "It's just one drink, don't burn me alive." She said.

"I don't think we should be drinking on the job." Natsu hinted.

"**We** aren't. I am. Besides look around. All of these wealthy socialites and royalty here means high quality alcohol. It would be rude of me as a guest **not** to partake. Right?"

Natsu sighed in exhaustion, he knew there was no way he was winning this argument. "I guess so."

"Glad you see it my way." Cana smiled in victory. She finished off her glass and placed it on the tray of a different waiter passing by. "That hit the spot. The rich sure know how to pick them."

"I still don't see anything suspicious." Natsu complained. "Can't this guy just hurry and steal the thing so we get something exciting going?"

"I have an idea. Come on." Cana grabbed Natsu by the hand and pulled him until they were in the middle of the dance floor.

"Why are we here?" Natsu asked in genuine confusion.

"We'll get a better view here than we did by the table. You see how everyone is dancing?"

Cana directed Natsu's eyes to the dancers around them. The men spun the women left and right and pulled them under and around their arms and dipping them. He was getting motion sick just looking at it.

"All that spinning will gives a full 360 view of the dance hall. It's also a good way to cure boredom." She winked at Natsu, causing him to blush almost immediately. The tempo of the song changed to more upbeat affair and Cana's ears perked up. She held out her hand to a confused Natsu. "Well don't just stand there." she said. "Take it."

"Oh. Sorry." Natsu gently grabbed Cana's hand. He could feel her slender fingers through her glove. Shen then curtsied, prompting a nervous Natsu to haphazardly bow in response.

Cana giggled at his manner. "While I admit it's cute, you don't have to be so nervous, Natsu. Here, I'll take the lead. Sound good?"

Natsu nodded slowly.

"Ok. Here we go." Cana placed the palm of her right hand on Natsu's left and lightly wrapping her fingers in the space between his index finger and thumb. She then stepped forward, if she wasn't invading Natsu's personal space before she definitely was now. "Put your other hand on my back."

"Ok." Natsu raised his free arm, placing the palm of his right hand on Cana's upper back. "Like this?"

"Just like that." Cana placed her free hand on Natsu's right tricep. "Now you're going to step back once, bend your knee, and push forward."

"Step back. Bend knee. Push forward." Natsu did as he was told and Cana pulled him along.

"Good. Now you're going to step with me. Keep your toes aligned with mine, and we'll start spinning. Make sure you hold on to me so I don't go flying into people." she teased.

"Ok." Natsu nodded. His foot followed Cana's but he over-stepped, stamping on her toes.

She winced at the sudden weight on her foot.

"Sorry." Natsu apologized immediately.

"It's ok. Just relax and let me lead. Look at my feet if you have to."

"Right." They began again and this time it was only two steps before Natsu crushed Cana's foot again. They restarted and once again Natsu stepped on Cana. Each time they would get going, Natsu locked up and stepped right onto the brunette's toes. After about the twentieth time they moved from the dance floor.

"As much as I like having my foot crushed, I like walking more, Natsu." She said to him as she rubbed her sore toes. "You have to let me lead."

"Sorry. I promise I'll have it next time." Natsu looked at Cana with the same determination he showed in battle. To him this was just that, and he took it very seriously.

Cana grinned. "Ok, let's start again." The pair moved back to the floor and restarted, to Cana's surprise Natsu was moving pretty well. He was still going a bit fast for her liking, but at least he was sparing her feet more thrashings. "You're doing pretty well."

"Thanks." Natsu smiled.

"Focus."

"Right. Sorry."

The pair spun around the outer area of the dance floor along with other party guests, dancing more fluidly than a few of them. If Natsu was a novice, no one could really tell.

"This is pretty cool." Natsu smiled. "Even though we're spinning around and stuff I don't feel dizzy at all."

"Well it's not like we're in a vehicle." Cana laughed.

"Where did you learn to do this anyway?"

Cana gave the dragon slayer a faux pout. "I do more than just drink all day, Natsu."

"R-right." Natsu nodded with a nervous blush and looked away. He didn't know why, but he was feeling more and more uncomfortable around Cana, but not really in a bad way. He had never been around her for such a long period of time, so this side of her he was seeing was odd to say the least. While Cana got a long with most everyone in the guild, she was also among the most secretive. She rarely talked about her personal life unless it was with Macao or Wakaba - or she was drunk. She wasn't closed off, but she wasn't the most open person either - despite her choice in clothing. She was a mystery to the dragon slayer, one that he didn't even know if he wanted to fully solve.

Cana looked up to Natsu as they glided along the dance floor. The cologne provided for him by the Eldarod family butler was much more prominent now that she was so close to him. He smelled like a forest of cedar wood, which Cana oddly found pleasant. As she looked at him under the light, her cheeks began to redden. _You know from this angle, he looks a bit…_ When she realized her ramblings the fortuneteller quickly shook the thought from her mind. _What am I saying? I must be drunk._ She tore her eyes away from her dance partner and looked back to the outer rims of the dance floor. She spotted a man with slicked back wine red hair approaching Duke Eldarod. He wore a black tuxedo, with a black mask resembling a crow fastened to his face. He was smirking confidently about something. Cana's eyes narrowed. _There's something off about that guy._

The mystery man approached the Patriarch of the family and bowed. "A fine gala you have prepared, Duke Eldarod."

The portly man laughed. "Why thank you, lad, but it is not I you should be thanking. It is my son." The duke turned the mystery man's attention towards his son standing next to him. The young man could not have been older than 17 or 18. He was tall with short blonde hair and regal bearing that made others look at him with awe.

"No need to be modest, father. The festivities were your idea after all." He smiled.

"I guess they were." The Duke laughed.

The mystery man stole a glance to a case shrouded in a red cloak. "I look forward your crowning, young master."

"Your praise is wasted on me, good sir, but I appreciate it. Please, continue to enjoy the party to your heart's content."

"Thank you." The man grinned. "I will." He walked from the pair and back into the crowd, Cana's eyes still unknowingly following him.

The Duke stood up and clapped his hands, stopping all movement and band playing. Natsu himself had to be stopped by Cana. "Honored guests, I thank you all for your presence today as we honor my son, Leopold, with the bequeathing of the Duke's Brace. A precious heirloom that has been passed down through the Eldarod family for generations. This bracelet represents strength, poise, authority, and a firm mind to do what is necessary to lead. Why I remember when my father first bequeathed the brace to me. I could not have been older than-"

"Now, now, father." Leopold interrupted. "You wouldn't want to bore our guests now would you?" the crowd laughed at the joke, prompting the Duke to clear his throat and restart.

"Yes, of course." He moved to the case and clutched the shroud. "Now without further delay, I present to you all, the Duke's Brace!" Duke Eldarod raised the shroud but instead of awe he was met with gasps of shock. Confused by the reaction he looked to the case, and his eyes went wide in horror. The brace was gone from its stand.

"What happened?" Natsu asked in confusion.

Cana quickly spun around. _That guy! He must have…_She visually searched the ball room, her eyes looking to a window on the south wall. "There!" she pointed.

Everyone looked to the open window and saw the mysterious man Cana had seen earlier. "I must admit this party was rather fun," he said. "But I must be making my exit! I bid you all good night!" With the bracelet in hand, the revealed Phantom Driver leapt from the window into the night.

"Was that him?!" one of the guests shouted.

"It must have been! That was the Phantom Driver!"

"That dastardly rouge!"

"Where has he gone?!"

"Father?!" Leopold was holding the collapsed Duke, who had fainted due to the stress.

"This is getting bad." Cana said. "Natsu, we have to find him and-"

"Finally some action!" The dragon slayer shouted in excitement. He threw off his jacket coat and his bow tie before running and jumping through the open window.

"Natsu, wait!" Cana called after him, but he was already gone. She started to run after him, but her heels had other plans. She quickly pulled them off and chased after her guildmate. "Dammit!"

Natsu soon caught up with the thief thanks to his nose and was currently embroiled in a heated chase through the back streets of Crocus. The Phantom Driver knocked over a trash can before exiting the alley, but Natsu jumped over it and continued his pursuit. "Come back here, you bastard!"

The Phantom Driver briefly looked behind himself before smirking and turning down another alley. Natsu followed him but was struck dumb when he saw no sign of the thief.

"I could have sworn he turned here."

"You're Natsu Dragneel aren't you?!" A voice called from above. Natsu looked up and saw the Phantom Driver on top of the roof of the building to his left. He glared at the thief. "My reputation must be growing. It's not every day a celebrity is hired to catch you."

Natsu gathered flames at the bottom of his feet and propelled himself in the air, emerging above the thief and the roof.

The Phantom Driver smirked. "Impressive. You really are a superstar." He took off running across the rooftops before Natsu could land, giving himself a good head start.

"Come back here!" Natsu demanded. As he chased the thief he puffed out his cheeks.

_**FIRE DRAGON ROAR**_

The ferocious stream of fire was aimed straight at the cocky thief. He turned around - stopping at the edge of the third roof top - and his smirk grew. He blinked, his eyes going completely black, and a black hole appeared in front of him, sucking in Natsu's attack before closing up.

"What the hell?!" Natsu shouted in disbelief.

"Impressive, no?" he blinked again and his eyes returned to normal. "That's my shadow transport magic. I'd love to explain to you how it works, but I'm on a bit of a tight schedule." He waved the bracelet in his hands before falling backwards from the roof.

"Wait!"

The Phantom Rider fell towards the ground with a confident smirk. "Now that I've evaded a Fairy Tail wizard like Salamander, my popularity grow even more!"

"Sorry, pretty boy, but this is your last heist."

"What?" the thief tilted his head back, surprised to see Cana on the ground waiting for him. "Who-"

Cana swiped her index and middle fingers in the air and bright light shot up from the ground. Natsu saw the light and slid to a halt at the end of the building the Phantom Rider fell from. When he peaked over the edge he saw his teammate.

"Cana?!"

"Oh hey, Natsu." She smiled.

"Did you see that Phantom guy? Did he pass by here?"

"The thief? I took care of him." She held up a card and Natsu jumped from the roof to look at it. When he saw what was on it his eyes widened in amazement. Inside the card was the Phantom Rider, angrily beating on an invisble barrier. He was screaming something, but Natsu couldn't hear him.

"You caught him!" Natsu shouted happily. He looked up to Cana and saw that she also had the bracelet in her hands.

She winked at him. "Yep, now let's go turn this guy in."

"Yeah!" Natsu nodded.

* * *

Cana was beside herself with glee as she counted her reward money. "1,000,000 jewel!" she shouted happily. "I can't believe he gave us a 100,000 bonus for catching the guy. We're so lucky!"

"Y-yeah." Natsu nervously agreed. He was currently turned away from Cana, a blush on his cheeks.

Cana counted out half of the reward money and reached her arm back to Natsu. "Here's your share."

"Thanks." Natsu grabbed the money and placed it in his bag.

"Guess we should get some shut eye, huh? Our train leaves pretty early tomorrow."

"Yep. It sure does." Natsu gulped.

"Aw, are you scared of the train ride tomorrow?" Cana teased.

"No, I'm just fine." Natsu replied hesitantly.

"Well if you get sick you can lay in my lap, just promise not to vomit on me." she winked.

"Alright." Natsu said dryly.

Cana placed her reward in her bag – which was hanging by its strap on the headboard – and fixed herself to a comfortable position in bed. "Good night, Natsu."

"Night." Natsu returned as he himself found a comfortable place to rest.

"Could you scoot over a bit?" Cana requested.

"Oh…yeah." Natsu moved a little bit closer to the edge of the bed. "That better?"

"It is. Thanks."

"No problem." This was Natsu Dragneel's current dilemma. Due to an upcoming festival within the city, nearly all of the inns in town were booked to capacity. Natsu and Cana managed to find an inn located only thirty minutes from the train station, but they only had one room left. This wouldn't have been so bad to deal with for Natsu…if the room had two beds. Instead the pair were forced to occupy a single room together, sharing a single bed. Natsu offered to sleep on the floor, but Cana declined; saying that she didn't mind sharing a bed for one night. If only Natsu was as willing as she was. He was so nervous he couldn't sleep, that eerie feeling he had since he and Cana started this job was coming back. Only now it was stronger than ever. Something was about to happen.

"Natsu?" Cana called.

"Y-yeah?"

"What's the deal with you, Erza, and Mirajane?"

Natsu's body lightly shook at the mention of those names. "What do you mean?"

"Are you dating one of them?"

Natsu blushed. He briefly flashed back to his waking up in their laps after he got the Empress Arcana. "What brought that on?"

"Just curious. You three seem a lot closer lately." She already knew how the girls felt about him, but she didn't know Natsu thought of them.

"Well I don't know what to tell you. There's nothing going on. We're all just friends." Natsu tried his best to sound firm, but his voice kept quaking.

"Alright, If you say so."

"What's that me-"Natsu turned over but cut his sentence short when he realized he was face to face with Cana. She was staring at him wide-eyed, her head resting on her hand on her pillow. Natsu eye's slowly trailed down her body, the dim moonlight from the window just barely allowing him to see her red lace bra. He gulped, which made Cana grin mischievously.

"Natsu~." She called alluringly, forcing the dragon slayer's eyes back on hers. "Are you a virgin?"

Natsu's face turned completely red. "Why are you asking these weird questions?"

It wasn't a confession, but Cana could read between the lines. This amused her even more. "It's ok if you are. It's nothing to be ashamed of." She reached down to his stomach and slowly brought her cold fingers up Natsu's abs. "Kind of a shame though. You're not half bad in the looks department."

Natsu turned away from her, his cheeks still red. "Don't make fun of me."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to." Her hand reached his chest. "You know I can teach more than just dance moves."

Natsu turned his head back to face her, the lustful look in his eyes causing him to sweat. "What are you-"

Cana placed her index finger on his lips, shushing him to silence. "You don't have to talk." She whispered and leaned in closer to him. "Just let me take the lead." She kissed the shocked dragon slayer on the lips and leaned in more until she was on top of him.

* * *

Natsu awoke the next morning to the kiss of the sun's rays. Groaning in annoyance he raised his hand to cover his eyes. "What happened last night?" He briefly thought back to Cana's kiss, and he touched his lips. "That was just a dream right?" He heard a pleased moan and moved the blanket away. His eyes widened in shock.

Nuzzled up to him was Cana, her head right next to his heart. She was smiling peacefully as she continued to sleep. One more important detail Natsu noticed was that she was completely naked, and on closer inspection so was he.

Natsu was shocked speechless. He wanted to shout in fright, feeling he had done something wrong, but thought differently so as not to wake Cana. He didn't know why he cared about waking her. He just did. Before he could hazard a guess on the heavily implied events of last night, he saw a pale blue light. When he looked back at Cana's head and saw a slowly spinning blue card, his face went white again.

"No..."

* * *

**First off I wanted to apologize for the length of this chapter. I promise I will try and keep them shorter in the future. I think a bulk of the length came from Cana's explanation to Natsu. Also, if you couldn't tell, this is where the stories M rating starts to come into play. Don't worry I won't get too crazy from the get go, but there will be a bit more scandalous situations for our card collecting dragon slayer.**

**Also I did end the poll early, sorry for anyone who was still trying to vote. I meant to post something about that, but never got a round to it. Though I will say from now on that all future polls will only be open for a week. **

**As always, leave a comment, let me know what you think. Thanks for reading! :)**


	7. Devil's Brew II

Natsu had awoken a full hour before Cana, his mind racing with what happened the previous night. He could barely speak because of it, and the sharp pain in the back of his head was metaphorically - close to literally - killing him. Lying at his side, Cana slowly roused to conciousness, her soft mewls increasing further increasing his uneasiness.

When Cana fully opened her eyesshe saw that Natsu's back was turned to her as he sat on the edge of the bed. "Good morning." Natsu noticeably tensed at the sound of her voice. "Sleep well?"

"Y-yeah." He stammered in reply. "I-I think so. My head kind of hurts though."

"Sorry about that." She grinned.

"No worries, I just-"Natsu turned to face her but quickly whipped back around, his face now completely red. "You're naked!"

Cana looked down at her own naked form with mild surprise. "I guess I am." she shrugged nonchalantly.

Natsu fought every urge to look again. "Could you put some clothes on? Please?"

"Oh~?" Cana grinned. "What's wrong, Natsu? Not feeling well? I guess your head must really be bothering you." She crawled to him, wrapped her slender arms around his neck, and pressed her exposed chest against his back. "I can help you out if you want."

Natsu felt another jolt as Cana pushed further into him. The warmth of her bare breasts – he could feel her nipples poking his back even through his vest - mixed with her sultry giggling only added to his temptations. In his panic he began sweating.

Cana took notice of this and began to laugh loudly before pulling away from him. She had gotten the reaction she wanted. "You're way too easy, Natsu. Not that it's a bad thing." She reached for her lingerie on the floor next to her side of the bed.

Natsu gulped, his body temperature lowering back to normal levels. Fore a fire dragon slayer at least. "Cana, about last night-"

"Don't worry your spiky-head over it." She fastened her bikini top in the back. 'We didn't go all the way."

"We didn't?!" Natsu exclaimed. He couldn't help his excited outburst.

"You sound so relieved." Cana teased. "Am I not good enough for you or something?"

"What? No, I didn't mean it like that. I just-"

"Calm down, Natsu, I'm just messing with you. We were just about to get started but as soon as I got naked, you backed away, hit your head on the headboard, and passed out. Kinda spoiled the whole mood."

Natsu rubbed the back of his head. _So __**that's**__ why my head hurts._ "I'm sorry." He apologized. Though had no idea why he did.

Cana waved him off and pulled up her pants up. "There's no need to be sorry." Now that Natsu was paying attention to her, he noticed the fortuneteller had a really nice pair of legs. He blushed again.

"You were a really nice pillow." Cana said, referring to when she had used Natsu's chest to rest her weary head for the entire night. "Besides I may have gotten a bit carried away myself. It's really my fault."

"It's ok." Natsu reassured. "But you're sure we didn't do anything right?"

Cana walked to the front of Natsu. Luckily for him she was fully clothed this time – if pants and a bikini top counted as "fully clothed". She then placed her hand on his shoulder. "Trust me, Natsu. Nothing happened."

Natsu wanted to believe Cana but the look on her face made him question her words. She was smiling, but it wasn't a normal smile. It was a playful one. She was hiding something.

"Come on, we should get going. We don't wanna miss the train." Cana grabbed her bag from the chair and began walking out of the room.

"Wait up!" Natsu called after, hurriedly putting his scarf on.

* * *

The Devil's Arcana. The most mischievous as well, as most unpredictable of all the major arcana. Its possessors are inherently a selfish lot that will do whatever they see fit to satisfy their own needs, but deep down they yearn for something to take them away from their constricting circumstances. Though they can prove to be the most stubborn; when beckoned they can be the most reliable.

* * *

"We're back!" Cana shouted into the guild hall. Natsu walked in behind her, he looked exhausted. The ride from Crocus back to Magnolia felt like it had lasted an eternity for the dragon slayer.

His strength was nearly gone. He felt lightheaded. His body felt like stretched rubber. This was more than just the lingering effects of motion sickness taking their toll on him. It was as if his energy had been completely drained away. It took nearly everything he had to even stand. It was quite the odd sight for his guildmates.

"See ya later, Natsu." Cana waved and made her way to the bar. It was clear that she was in much better spirits than her job partner. In fact she seemed like a brand new person.

"See ya." Natsu weakly replied. He trudged to the table where his team currently sat, minus Erza. According to Lucy she had gone on a job earlier in the day. Grumbling something or other about "Clearing her mind of distractions".

"Welcome back." Mirajane obsequiously greeted Cana. The barmaid wore a friendly face, but she was anything but. she was more than a little irritated. In fact sje was downright fuming on the inside. She and Erza had no idea where the fortuneteller had taken Natsu for an entire day and it bothered them more than they wanted to admit.

Cana saw through Mirajane's front almost immediately. "Something on your mind, Mira?"

"How was the job?" Mirajane inquired, her false, tight smile still painted on her face. "When I asked Kinana about it, she didn't give me any details. Was it some sort of secret job that you couldn't tell anyone about?"

"It was nothing like that." Cana replied with a shameless grin. "I asked Kinana not to say anything to you two about the job. I didn't want you guys following us."

Mirajane was caught off-guard by the explanation. "Why would we follow you?"

"You don't have to pretend, Mira. I know you and Erza would have come running if you found out where Natsu and I were. So I asked Kinana not tell you so he and I could...get better acquainted." Cana's roguish grin widened

Mirajane's face twitched. "I see." Her grip on the glass she was cleaning began to tighten. Any more force and it would shatter to pieces in her hands. "Sounds like you two did well then."

"Oh don't make that face." Cana said. "I just wanted to see why you and Erza were so set on him. It's not like we did anything."

Mirajane didn't believe Cana for a second, but before she could follow up on her suspicions, Natsu rose up from his seat. "I'm going to call it a day." He said to his friends. "Let's go, Happy."

Happy - along with the rest of his team - was surprised at first, Natsu had just gotten back to the guild hall, but after seeing just how exhausted Natsu looked to be, he followed behind the dragon slayer. "Aye."

"I hope you feel better." Wendy said.

"What was that about?" Lucy asked Gray with a hint of worry. "It's not like him to just suddenly go home like that."

"He's probably just tired from the job." The ice wizard replied. "Even that guy's energy has to run out at some point."

"Yes, but that was more than just simple fatigue." Carla implied.

The two exited the guild and Mirajane was even more worried. It wasn't like Natsu to be so down. Even Cana was confused.

* * *

Natsu flopped onto his hammock as soon as he got home. No matter hard he tried he couldn't shake the overbearing weakness in his body. He stuck out his dry tongue, trying to coat his equally dry lips with saliva that seemed to stop flowing all together. For the briefest moment he could taste Cana's kiss. Her lips carried with them bitter taste because of the alcohol, but it wasn't bad. It was even kind of appealing. Though the brunette said that nothing happened between them, Natsu still had brief flashes of last night that added to his doubts. Her lips on his, the softness of her long legs as they moved under the blanket they shared, and the sweet smell of her golden brown skin.

It all invaded his normally heightened – though currently dulled - senses, and heated his body in a very strange way. If he had to liken his body's feeling right now it would be…tipsy. Thinking of Cana made him feel tipsy. It was an awkward sensation, one the dragon slayer was not fully equipped to deal with. He hadn't felt this way in years.

"Natsu?" Happy called despondently from his own hammock.

Natsu gave no discernible answer, only a grunt in acknowledgment of Happy's voice.

"You ok?"

"I'm fine, Happy." Natsu mumbled. "Just…tired." A knock came from the door, the sudden sound nearly jettisoning Natsu from his hammock.

"Natsu? Are you there?" The dragon slayer recognized Erza's voice through the wooden door.

"What's she doing here?" Natsu asked, more annoyed than surprised.

"I don't know." Happy shrugged.

"Natsu?" Erza called again. She knocked with a bit more force. "Are you in there?"

Natsu grumbled again about being disturbed from his imminent slumber, and yet he lumbered to his door. "Go to sleep, Happy. I'll see what she wants."

"Ok. Good night." The exceed rolled over in his hammock and drifted off to sleep.

Natsu turned the knob and opened the door slowly, as expected there was Erza. Though Natsu was so out of it that he failed to notice the perturbed expression on her face. "Welcome." He reluctantly greeted.

Erza raised a brow. Everyone at the guild was right, Natsu looked terrible. His eyes were bloodshot, his cheeks were bright red, and he was sweating a lot. "Is everything alright, Natsu? You seem to be under the weather."

"I'm fine. You need something?" Natsu's curt tone vexed Erza, but she ignored it. She did show up unannounced before a seemingly sick man after all.

"I came to see to you. I wanted to ask how the job went." Erza replied. She was telling the truth…sort of. She was genuinely curious about Natsu's well being, but she was more interested in the details about his time spent with a certain brunette fortuneteller.

"The job?" One of Natsu's eyebrows raised randomly, only garnering more of Erza's suspicions. "It was fine. I guess. Is that all?"

"Well, yes. I suppose it-"

"See you tomorrow." Natsu tried to close the door, but Erza forced her foot through the opening.

"A-actually, could you tell me more about it?" She smiled as wide as she could. "I heard you were tasked with apprehending a supposed thief."

Natsu sighed in defeat. "Fine. Come in." He returned to his hammock and flopped onto his stomach. "Make yourself at home." He yawned

Erza remained a few paces behind him, her methodical steps echoing throughout the quiet abode. _This is the second time I've been in Natsu's home alone._ She thought, her cheeks slowly reddening. She looked around at all of the various objects and pictures hanging. It had a certain charm to it now that she took the time to get a feel of the atmosphere. _I never noticed how…like him it is._ She spotted a chair in the corner and pulled it to the side of Natsu's hammock. He turned and looked at her, his red eyes now half-lidded. "Are you sure you're ok, Natsu?" she asked again.

"I'm fi~ne." he repeated lazily. "I thought you were asking me about some job or something." His tone was once again less than cordial.

"Oh. Yes. Your job. " Erza nodded quickly. "You went with Cana…right?"

"That's who I went with." Natsu yawned. "I think. It was forever ago."

"It was a few hours ago." Erza countered deadpan.

"Like I said; forever."

"Moving on. Did you two…" Erza lightly blushed. "**Work** well together?"

"Guess so. It wasn't really that *hic* bad. Cana knows a lot of stuff."

Now Erza's curiosity was rivaling Mirajane's. "What kind of 'stuff'?"

"She's a really good dancer."

"I see. And? What else?"

"She's fast."

"Fast?"

Natsu nodded. "Yeah. She caught that thief guy like zoom!" he whipped his arm through the air, startling Erza. "She put him in a card. Then the fat guy gave us our reward." He smiled wide. "So~ much money. So much food."

Erza was having more than a little difficulty following Natsu's erratic speech patterns. His rapid changes in pitch and volume, his somewhat spastic arm movements, and his creepy smiles weren't helping matters. He was getting harder to read by the second. The redhead was seriously starting to worry about him.

"She knew a lot about the Arcana too…"

"Arcana?" Erza pondered the strange phrase. _Arcana? What is that? Is that some sort of code? A spell maybe? She gasped internally. What if that is some sort of code for-_

"She's also really good at something else." The suggestive smile on the dragon slayer's lips, put an even bigger seed of anxiety in the base of Erza's spine.

"What do you mean, Natsu?" Erza inquired. She pushed the Arcana mystery to the back of her mind and was now literally on the edge of her seat. "What else is Cana good at?"

Natsu placed his index on Erza's lips, causing her to blush. He hiccupped and smiled wide once more. "Let me take the lead." His finger dropped from the Erza's lips and his arm lazily hung over the side of his hammock. He looked down at his hanging limb. "Oops." He laughed. He then looked back to the blushing knight. "Your lips are soft…"

Erza blinked rapidly. "What?"

Suddenly the door swung open, alarming the embarrassed redhead. She looked to the intruder, her sword drawn. "Mirajane?!"

"Erza?" The barmaid replied. "I didn't know you were here."

Erza relaxed her blade. "How do you know the location of Natsu's house?"

"Lisanna told me. She used to spend a lot of time here when they were younger. Did you come to check on him too?"

Erza looked back to the dragon slayer, he was sleeping now, but his wide smile was still present on his face. "I did."

Mirajane pulled up a chair next to Erza. "Did you figure out what was wrong with him?"

"Sadly no. When I came to check on him he looked just as exhausted as everyone said. Then as we talked he steadily got worse."

Mirajane leaned in closer to Natsu as he slept. He looked peaceful enough, but she could smell a familiar scent on his breath. "He's drunk." The barmaid diagnosed.

"Drunk? Since when does Natsu drink alcohol?"

"He doesn't…" Mirajane began. "At least I didn't think he did."

"Well that is certainly and odd habit for him to start."

"Did he say anything to you, you know, about the job?"

Erza looked to Mirajane quizzically for a moment, but she soon realized that the barmaid had come to Natsu's place for the same reason she had. Mirajane was also much more nervous than she was. Erza looked back to Natsu. "Not really. Apparently Cana is quite the dancer."

"Is that all he said?"

"Far as I can tell. His speech patterns were all over the place. No doubt due to his intoxication." Erza started to mention the Arcana word that Natsu used, but she deemed it unimportant and kept it to herself.

Natsu briefly opened his eyes and the two S-Class wizards instantly tended to him.

"Natsu?" Erza called.

"Are you ok?" Mirajane worried. "How many fingers am I holding up?" she showed him the index and middle fingers of her right hand.

Natsu's eyes trailed from Mirajane's hands to her face. He then looked to Erza's face before smiling wide again. "Erza…Mira…" he weakly called.

"Yes?" they answered at once.

"So...pretty…" Natsu mumbled.

Both the demon and the knight blushed at the compliment.

"T-thank you." Erza replied. That was the only thing she could think to say at the moment. Many men - and women - had called her pretty, even beautiful, over the years; but hearing it from Natsu somehow had more meaning.

Seeing this as an opportunity to glean some crucial information from the dragon slayer, Mirajane leaned in closer to him. "Natsu?" she cooed.

"Hm?"

"Who do you like more: Me or Erza?"

"Mirajane!" Erza hissed, her cheeks even redder than before. "This is no time to be asking such a ludicrous question."

"Come on, Erza, don't tell me you're not curious." Mirajane grinned playfully. "That blush on your cheeks is revealing your true self."

Erza glared at Mirajane for a few moments. She didn't want to admit it, but the barmaid was right. Erza was very curious as to Natsu's romantic preference. She didn't want to take advantage of him in his current state, but she reasoned that a simple question wouldn't do any harm. It's not like they were doing anything scandalous to him while he was intoxicated. She turned her glare to the dragon slayer. "Answer the question, Natsu." She ordered in her trademark authoritative tone.

Natsu began muttering. "I…"

"Yes?" the girls leaned forward.

"I…like…"

"Yes? Yes?!" they inched even closer.

"Gray!" Natsu shouted. The answer knocked both Erza and Mirajane out of their seats in surprise.

"Gray?!" Erza exclaimed.

"Oh my." Mirajane gasped with a blush. "I had no idea that Natsu-"

"Come back here, you jerk!" Natsu yelled angrily. "That was a cheap shot!" He swung his fists in the air violently as he cursed and rambled. It looked as if he was hitting an imaginary image of his rival for some slight that neither Erza nor Mirajane were privy to. "There." Natsu said with a cocky smile, apparently he had triumphed in his dream fight. "That'll teach you…to mess…with me…" his voice trailed off and he returned to sleep. "Strongest…alive…" he burped and grumbled intelligibly to himself for a bit longer before scratching his stomach and rolling over to his side. He ended this process by snoring.

Erza and Mirajane looked at one another with total confusion, before sharing a laugh. Though they had not gotten the answers they wanted, they at least managed to realize that Natsu would be ok after a good night's rest. He may wake up with a bit of a hangover, but he would live to see tomorrow.

"He's adorable when he's drunk." Mirajane said as she and Erza rose to their feet.

Erza nodded, but other than that gave no input.

They both looked to the sleeping dragon slayer with soft smiles.

"We should let him rest." Erza suggested. "We've already caused him enough grief for one night."

"You're right." Mirajane agreed. "We can talk to him tomorrow after he sleeps this off."

They both walked to the door, but not before giving the dragon slayer one last glance.

"Good night, Natsu."

* * *

Cana laid awake in her bed, watching her ceiling fan spin around as the moonlight shined through her window. She had been awake for hours and she didn't know why. Not long after leaving the guild, she began to feel lightheaded, and her vision began to blur. She barely made it back to her room. _What is going on with me? _She felt a knocking in her skull and clutched her forehead. "My head feels like its being pounded by a hammer."

She got up and walked to her bathroom, nearly falling over in the process. "Ok, there's definitely something wrong with me." She turned on the light and looked into the mirror, noticing the lazy look in her eyes as well as the red tint on her cheeks. It was then she realized what was going on. "I'm *hic* drunk? How? I didn't even *hic" even *hic* e*hic* drink alcohol today." She trotted back to her bed. "How…can I be…drunk?" The more Cana thought of how she got this way, the more her head throbbed. Her memory was hazy, all she could see were flashes of pink.

_What is that?_

A faint smell flourished inside her nostrils. She recognized the fragrance almost instantly. It was Natsu's cologne from the gala. _What…is going on?_ _Why am I smelling this?_ She felt herself being taken back to the job site in Crocus. It was like her spirit was being pulled from the present and into the past, but there was one major difference this time around: no one was in the dining hall. No one except herself and Natsu.

She looked to the dragon slayer. "Natsu, what's going on? Where are all the people? Why are we here?"

The dragon slayer said nothing. Instead he simply smiled and held out his hand to the confused lush.

Cana was going to question his silence, but she suddenly felt a force overtake her body. Having lost nearly all control, she could only watch as her right arm slowly rose, placing her hand in Natsu's. The dragon slayer gripped firmly, and bowed like a gentleman would before pulling the surprised Cana closer to him. The brunette blushed at the sudden contact.

"I like aggressive guys, but this is a bit much, isn't it?" she said with a nervous laugh. Her heart beat faster and her muscles anxiously tensed the longer she looked at him. "Ok, Natsu. This whole silence act is starting to freak me out. What are you-"Before she could finish her thought Natsu began stepping around the dancefloor, deftly pulling Cana along. They were dancing just as they had that night.

"Natsu?!" Cana yelped with a hint of fright at the sudden action. Once again he gave no reply. He simply continued smiling at her. Slowly but surely Cana's fear turned into awe. She found herself amazed at the speed and grace at which they were both moving. There was no wasted motion. No missteps or foot faults. They were in perfect sync. _How did he get this good so fast? I just taught him this dance yesterday!_

Natsu's arm tighten around Cana's waist as they spun around. The smell of his cologne invaded her nose once again. It was sweet, but also a tad musky. Sort of like cinnamon ashes. Cana had never felt this lightheaded before. She was drunk, but it was not from alcohol. She was drunk off of emotion, something that she thought was impossible for her. Choosing to ride the wave, she rested her head on Natsu's chest. She felt that firmness from last night again. She didn't even know how much she actually missed it.

Back in reality she snuggled under her blanket, completely immersed in the dream as she clutched her long pillow to her body. "This is *hic* nice." She smiled.

* * *

Natsu was roused to consciousness by the alluring smell of freshly cooked meat. Quickly sitting up in his hammock he turned to see a full spread on his dining table. "Food?!" Natsu sprang forth and bounded to the table with wide eyes and an even emptier stomach. Meat. Eggs. Noodles. Rice. Fish. Fruit. It was all arranged perfectly across the wooden table. Each morsel of food was more appealing than the last. "Where did this all come from?" He wondered. His eyes fell on Happy, who was sitting on the table with a mouth full of one of the trout that was previously on the fish plate. "You cook this, Happy?"

"Nope." The exceed took another bite of fish. "Mira made it."

Natsu's eyes widened at the revelation. "Mira did?"

"Uh huh." Happy nodded. He reached over to a piece of paper and handed it to Natsu. "She left a note, too."

"Lemme see that." Natsu grabbed the note and read it aloud:

**I thought you might be hungry in the morning after what happened yesterday. Be sure to eat it all. I worked really hard on it. ****See you at the guild hall.**

**,Mirajane **

Natsu blushed at the note. "Did she really have to put a heart at the end?" he grumbled in embarrassment. He barely remembered Erza coming over to see him yesterday, let alone Mirajane. He vaguely recalled her coming by not long after Erza did, but the dragon slayer assumed her presence was due to a crazy dream he was having.

"She li~kes you." Happy teased.

"You be quiet."

After eating and getting dressed, Natsu and Happy made their way to the guild hall.

"Are you feeling better, Natsu?" Happy asked.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"You were acting really weird when you came back from your job yesterday. You were mumbling a lot, you were sweating, and your cheeks were red."

"They were? Well I feel much better now. Actually I feel better than better. I feel like I could take down a whole dark guild by myself." He boasted with a wide smile.

"Aye. You look much better now." Happy agreed with a smile of his own.

The pair burst the guild hall with their usual gusto. "What's up, guys!" Natsu shouted.

"You seem to be feeling much better." Lucy giggled.

"We were worried." Wendy smiled in relief.

"I wasn't." Gray sniped. "It was actually pretty quiet with Natsu not around."

"Care to say that to my face, you spiky-haired jerk?!" Natsu challenged.

"I already did. Besides your hair is just as spiky as mine, pinky!"

"Well the quiet was nice while it lasted." Carla sighed.

"Good morning, Natsu!" Mirajane greeted happily.

The dragon slayer looked to the bar and saw both Mirajane and Erza. He ignored Gray - only agitating the ice wizard further - and walked towards them.

"Morning, Mira." Natsu waved. He rubbed his stomach and smiled as he approached the bar. "Thanks for the food. It was delicious."

"Food?" Erza raised an eyebrow to Mirajane. The barmaid playfully stuck out her tongue and winked at the knight. _Mirajane, you-_

"You're welcome." Mirajane said to Natsu, ignoring Erza's glare. "I'm glad you enjoyed it."

"How are you feeling?" Erza inquired.

"Like a million bucks." Natsu bragged, flexing his bicep. "I don't know what was going on with me yesterday, but I'm all better now."

"I see." Erza grinned. "Good."

"Natsu." A voice called.

The dragon slayer looked further down the bar and saw Cana. Surprisingly she wasn't drinking anything, even more surprising was that she was looking at him with the most serious eyes he had even seen her display. It made him a bit nervous. "Can I talk to you?" she requested, though it sounded more like an order.

"Uh…yeah sure." Natsu nodded. He didn't know what was up with her shift in attitude, but even Natsu was smart enough to know that he shouldn't do anything to exacerbate Cana's mood

"Thanks." Cana hopped from her stool and grabbed Natsu by the wrist, eliciting surprised – and irritated - looks from both Mirajane and Erza. The fortuneteller turned to the pair and pulled out a card from her bag. "Sorry, guys, but this is going to be a private chat."

**_SLEEP CARD_**

The card in her hand began glowing green.

"Cana, what are you…" Erza began to trail off, her eye lids getting heavier and heavier with each passing second.

"Ca…na…" Mirajane felt the same odd sensation as Erza. In a near instant they were both slumped over the bar top. Fast asleep.

"What did you do to them?!" Natsu shouted in fear.

"No need to yell I just put them to sleep for a little bit." She reassured and pulled Natsu along as she ran to the guild doors. "We need to hurry, they won't be out for long."

"Cana! Wait! Where are we going?!"

When they were gone the other members of Fairy Tail ran to Mirajane and Erza's sides.

"Are they ok?" Wendy fretted.

"Cana said she only put them to sleep." Gray reminded.

"Yeah, but why? Just so she could talk to Natsu? Seems a bit extreme if you ask me." Lucy voiced her displeasure.

"How long do you think they'll be out?" Jet inquired.

"The spell Cana used wasn't that strong, otherwise we would all be sleeping." Levy deduced. "I'm guessing they'll be out for at most ten to fifteen minutes."

"What do you think they're dreaming about?" Juvia asked. She as more curious about that than anything else. Her dreams were usually about Gray.

"With Mira it could be anything really." Elfman shrugged.

"Yeah, and I bet Erza's dreaming about a fight or something." Gray said.

"Aye. Or bossing somebody around." Happy added.

"Or cake." Lisanna suggested.

"Those do all sound like things Erza would dream about." Lucy giggled.

"Natsu…" Mirajane mewed, catching everyone's attention. A sultry smile pulled across her face and she bit her lower lip. "You're really affectionate today…" her soft giggles put everyone on edge.

"No, Natsu…" Erza breathlessly protested, making the others even more nervous. She was blushing and her knees were slowly rubbing together like she had to use the bathroom. She bit her quivering lip, but she was much more nervous than Mirajane. "Not here…someone might see us…please...control yourself."

Everyone took a big step back from the pair, their faces all red from embarrassment.

"On second thought, who cares about what they're dreaming about?" Gray nervously asked. "We should just let them rest."

"Aye." The others nodded. They were just as uncomfortable as the ice wizard.

* * *

"Cana, where are you taking me?" Natsu asked.

"We're almost there." She replied.

Natsu continued to be dragged by the normally easygoing fortuneteller and noticed what looked to be the roof of a familiar building peaking over the top of the hill of they were ascending. When they reached the peak, Natsu realized that Cana had brought him to Fairy Hills. This was the second time Natsu had come here in about a month, though this time it was basically against his will.

They entered the empty dorm and walked to a door at the edge of the first hall. Cana opened it and pushed Natsu inside. "Sit down." She commanded.

Natsu obediently complied and sat in the wicker chair across from Cana's bed. He had no idea why she brought him all the way here, but he could feel that things were only going to get more awkward from here on out. He looked around at all of the things strewn about in Cana's room. Despite mostly being seen as drunk off her ass, she was surprisingly fairly tidy, minus a few random pieces of underwear here and there. Natsu took a deep breath to calm him nerves, but in the process he caught a whiff of a scent, Cana's scent. This was much different than when they were at the party, it was also much different than what he normally smelled of her from the guild hall – which was usually laced with alcohol. This was – in a word – Cana Alberona's "natural" scent. It was a bitter smell, but not overpowering. It was akin to sugar, or perhaps a distant cousin of cocoa. Either way Natsu was feeling that numbing feeling in his head again.

Cana walked past Natsu and sat on the bed across from the chair. She crossed her legs and arms as she looked down her nose at him. She sat there, staring at him in silence.

"Are you going to explain why you dragged me all the way here?" Natsu asked.

Cana remained silent while she placed her hand on her chin to think. The more she looked Natsu over, the more unimpressive she found him. His body was toned sure, but Laxus, Elfman, and even Gray had better builds than he did. He held his own in battle, but that was only because his opponents had no way to deal with his more boneheaded strategies. He only survived through pure luck. He was nowhere near the smartest person in the guild, probably not even the town. _So why? There's really nothing all that special about him. So why did I have that dream about him? It makes no sense. Why do I feel so lightheaded right now?_ Just as she was about to give up, she thought of the perfect test. "Natsu, sit with me." she said finally. She patted the spot next to her and Natsu once again complied. The bed lightly bounced when he sat on it. "Wait here for a minute, ok?"

"Um. Ok." Natsu watched as Cana walked to her dresser and opened the top drawer. She pulled out a black wooden box, then grabbed two glasses wrapped in paper from her closet. "What are those for?" the dragon slayer asked.

"You'll see in a minute." Cana smiled. She slid off the front board of the wooden box and took out the bottle inside. It wasn't a particularly large bottle, but it was very well made. It was in the shape of a diamond and was black in color. Natsu could tell from the fineness of the bottle of it that it wasn't made from normal glass. Cana twisted the cap open and the smell quickly filled the room.

It was sharp scent, so sharp that it almost made Natsu's nose bleed. There was also the faintest whiff of coconut and strawberries. Cana filled the glasses about halfway with the clear liquid and walked back to Natsu. She placed the bottle on the table in front of them and sat on the bed. "Here." She handed one of the glasses to Natsu.

"Thanks, but I don't really drink." Natsu declined.

"Natsu, I brought you all the way here out of the kindness of my heart as a guest. The least you can do is take the drink I offer you. Besides we've already slept together. Usually most people have a drink **before** getting to that part." she grinned.

Natsu begrudgingly took the glass. He held it under his nose and retched at the smell of the drink. "This stuff stinks."

"Yeah it is kinda strong." Cana laughed.

"Where did you get this stuff anyway?"

"I got it a couple of months ago from a town in the south. A place called Jasmine."

"Jasmine?"

"Yep." Cana swirled the drink a bit around in her glass. "It's pretty secluded in the mountains, but they have some of the best alcohol in all of Fiore. I had some brewed for me. Cost me a lot of money. I barely made rent because of it. That's the reason I took that job in Crocus, so I could finish paying this off."

"What's it called?"

Cana pondered this question for a moment. "You know what? I haven't actually given it a name yet. This is actually the first time I've drank the stuff since buying it. Maybe something like 'Devil's Brew'."

"Devil's Brew?"

"Yeah." Cana nodded. "I mean it smells like hell so I think it fits."

"Why would you pay so much for alcohol? The stuff isn't all that tasty."

Cana laughed again. "I don't know. I guess I just wanted to taste something different than all of the stuff that was around town. It's no secret I'm a lush. Pretty much all I do is drink." Her smiled took a rueful turn. "Not really much else to it."

"I don't think that." Natsu said.

Cana turned to him. "What do you mean?"

"I mean sure you drink a lot, but that's not really a bad thing. I mean yeah it's kind of bad, but it doesn't make you a bad person. It's just a part of who you are, but it's not all you are. You're also a nice person, even though you like to tease people a lot, and…" Natsu blushed. "You're a really good dancer."

Cana giggled at Natsu's blush. "You're an interesting guy, Natsu. I think I'm starting to see why Mirajane and Erza are so crazy about you."

"What are you talking about?"

"Enough about that, this stuff is going to go waste if we don't drink it." Cana raised her glass. "Cheers?"

Natsu returned her smile. "Cheers." They clinked glasses and took a sip of the liquor, and Natsu almost immediately threw it back up. He swallowed as quickly as he could, but the burning taste was still on his tongue. It was a ripe taste, but at the same time very astringent. I was like eating a whole orange, skin and all. "This stuff is horrible!"

Cana laughed. "It's an acquired taste." She finished the drink with little to no difficulty. It was obvious that she handled its flavor way better than her drinking partner. "Want another?"

"No way." Natsu declined forcefully. "That was awful."

"Natsu." Cana teased. "You're not gonna let a measly drink beat you, are you?"

Natsu looked to Cana's smirking face, he knew that she was goading him, but he couldn't deny his inner nature. "Give me another."

"That's the Salamander we all know and love." She poured more of the "Devil's Brew" into both their glasses. She handed Natsu's refill back to him and they clinked glasses again. "Bottoms up."

* * *

Erza woke up with a start. "Natsu!" she shouted into the guild.

Mirajane was more relaxed when she awakened, stretching her arms overhead. "What happened?" she yawned.

"You guys are finally awake." Lucy smiled.

"That was way longer than ten minutes." Gray said to Levy.

"How long were we sleeping?" Mirajane asked.

"Close to an hour." Elfman told his sister.

"We were starting to worry that you two would never wake up." Lisanna said.

Erza slammed her fist into the bar, startling everyone around her except for Mirajane. "Curse that Cana. What was she thinking by attacking us like that? She'll pay dearly."

"Where did she go?" Mirajane asked the group.

"I believe she took Natsu and went to Fairy Hills." Carla answered.

"Fairy Hills?!" Erza and Mirajane exclaimed.

"We have to hurry, Mirajane!" Erza declared. "Who knows what she may have done to Natsu."

"Right." Mirajane nodded. "Kinana, you're in charge of the bar until we get back."

"Ok." The interim barmaid smiled. She didn't seem worried about the situation at all.

Mirajane hopped over the bar top and ran off behind Erza.

"Cana's in for it now." Elfman said.

"I'm actually more worried about Natsu." Lucy admitted.

* * *

"So I hit the jerk in the face as hard as I could and he went flying through the street!" Natsu shouted, punching the air in front of him. The bottle was reaching the bottom and the pink-haired wizard was completely drunk. He had been rambling for the past thirty minutes or so about random topics ranging from food to fighting to how it was hard to find flame proof clothing.

"Sounds like it was quite the battle." Cana commented. She was only buzzed from the alcohol, rendering her much more competent than her drinking partner.

"Cana."

"Yes?"

"Cana."

"Yeah?"

"Cana~."

The brunette was beginning to become agitated at the repetition of her name. "What is it, Natsu?"

"…Arcana. Did you know your name *hic* sounds like Arcana?"

"Hmm. I never thought about before, but I guess you're right." She chuckled. "Speaking of which, why did you want to know about the Arcana the other day anyway? Seemed like a pretty weird thing for you of all people to be interested in."

"This *hic* old lady said I would get stronger if I collected them." Natsu handed his empty glass to Cana, who proceeded to pour the last of the liquor into it.

She returned Natsu's glass to him. "Old lady?"

Natsu took a sip. "Yeah *hic*. I got two already." Despite his words he held up three fingers. "Strength and Empe…Empe…"

"Empress." Cana finished.

"Yeah! That one!" Natsu laughed. "Erza and Mira had them."

Cana raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean 'had them'?"

"They had cards floating in front of their faces. They moved like this." He twirled his finger in front of his face to illustrate his point. "It was freaky weird."

Cana became increasingly confused - and even unnerved - by Natsu's drunk ramblings. Normally she would dismiss it as such, but his words made an odd sort of sense to her. She knew of the Arcana - she was the one who explained them to Natsu only a couple days prior - but the dragon slayer's words stumped even her.

"They floated like that one." Natsu pointed at Cana's nose.

"What?" Unbeknownst to the brunette, there was indeed a card floating in front of her face. Only Natsu could see it. "What's floating?"

"A *hic* card. Duh. Hold still. I'll get it." He slurred as he reached his hand out. He touched the card and it shattered.

* * *

A horrid throbbing opened Natsu's eyes to the world around him. "Damn, my head." He was sober now, but the headache was a lingering reminder of his adventure. He looked around and saw nothing but darkness. "Where am I this time?" He stood up, seeing a light in the distance in front of him. He ran to it, eventually coming onto a bench under a light post. As he suspected, there was Betty.

"You're such a lightweight." The old woman said.

Natsu sat down next to her. "Give me a break. I'm not a drinker."

"That much is obvious."

Natsu pulled out the card in his pocket. He briefly looked it over before handing it to the old woman. "That's the Devil's Arcana right?"

Betty looked down at the card and was pleasantly surprised by the accuracy of Natsu's guess. "Right. I'm surprised you figured that out on your own. That sultry fortuneteller helped you, didn't she?"

"Well I figured I had to learn about them if I had to collect them, ya know?"

"Smart boy." Betty smiled. "Well since you already know what this Arcana is then I don't have to waste time tellin ya about it."

"I guess not." He turned to Betty and noticed something different about her. "You're not smoking today."

"Surprised?" she grinned. "I told ya I was gonna quit. You didn't believe me?" she frowned. "How rude, calling an elderly woman a liar. I don't have long left you know."

"I didn't say anything!" Natsu defended. "Besides you're not a real person anyway!"

"What are you talking about? I'm as real as the sky is blue, pup. And don't you forget it."

"Sorry." Natsu apologized. They sat in silence for a bit before Natsu spoke again. "What happened with you last time?"

"Last time?"

"Yeah. You looked really gloomy when I asked about losing Arcana."

"I didn't know you cared so much." Betty grinned.

"I'm serious."

"So am I. It's nothing you need to worry about, just a woman getting sentimental in her old age."

Natsu knew Betty was lying, but once again he chose to remain silent. "If you say so."

"I do." She stood in front of him. "Ready to go back?"

Natsu rose to his feet. "I guess so."

"Fantastic then." Betty pressed her hand against his chest. "One last piece of advice before you go. Be careful with this one, but be patient as well. She may be coy now, but she'll come around eventually. Just give her some time."

"Right." Natsu nodded. As usual he had no idea what Betty was talking about, but he knew he wouldn't get a straight answer out of her if he asked her out right. "See ya later."

"Till next time, lover boy." Betty's hand began to glow and she pushed on Natsu's chest with a small bit for force. In a flash the dragon slayer returned to reality and Betty was left alone once more. She sat back down on the bench and looked out to the ever expanding darkness before her. "Maybe you'll be different than the last one."

* * *

"That's it, Happy." Natsu groaned, his hand on his pounding head. "I'm never drinking again."

"You look really rough." Happy said. "You didn't even get home until late last night."

"I don't even remember how I got there."

"You're quite the player, Natsu." Happy snickered. "I wonder what Erza and Mira would say."

"What do they have to do with anything?" The pair walked into the guild hall and the loud greetings only increased the severity of Natsu's headache. He walked straight to the bar, hoping that Mirajane had some kind of medicine for his hangover.

"Head still hurting?" Mirajane asked. Natsu nodded in confirmation. She placed a cup of coffee and a plate of toast in front of the ailing dragon slayer. "Here, try this."

"Thanks." Natsu sipped the coffee before taking a bite of toast.

"How did you sleep?"

"Like a baby, actually. I don't even remember getting home yesterday."

"Really?" Mirajane laughed nervously. "I'm sure you manage to find a way back on your own somehow." In reality it was Erza who carried Natsu home from Fairy Hill's, not that Mirajane would tell him that. She was still upset about losing the rock-paper-scissors match that night.

Natsu raised an eyebrow at Mirajane's explanation, but his returning migraine forced him to refocus on his meal.

"Morning, Natsu!" Cana yelled purposefully. The dragon slayer instantly covered his ears at the sound, his pain visible on his face. "Aw, I'm sorry." Cana cooed. "You're still hungover I see. I have just the cure." She grabbed Natsu's head and held him to her chest. "There? Better?"

Natsu's protests were muffled by the brunette's cleavage as he flailed around. He fought to break free from the soft, warm, valley, but it was for naught. Cana was too strong, or rather his hangover - or libido - had made him too weak to resist.

"Ok, Cana." Mirajane said warned through her smiling teeth. "That's enough isn't it?"

"Yes, it is." Erza said. She had just entered the guild hall, and made a beeline the bar after seeing Cana's smothering. "Release him."

"Fine. You win." Cana grinned and let go of Natsu, whose face was now completely red. "I'll see you later, Natsu." She winked at him and walked to her usual stool. She looked to Mirajane and Erza as they tended to Natsu. Erza tried to do the same "comforting technique" that Cana did, but she forgot to release her armor. This resulted in her knocking Natsu unconscious.

A coquettish grin pulled at Cana's lips as she looked at the passed out dragon slayer. "This is going to be fun."

* * *

**Well Cana's chapter is all done! This is the hardest one I've written so far. The most difficult part was trying keep the two in character while building the basis for a relationship between. Cana is an interesting character in her own right, so I wanted to be sure I did her justice. I imagine her as very playful when she finds a guy she's interested in. She's sexually liberated but doesn't give it to just anybody. I had to make sure I wrote her to match this perception and for the most part I think I accomplished that, but feel free to debate me on that subject if you think I missed something.**

**As for the poll, I'll post the new one after this chapter is live. It will be up for a week, so be sure to get voting!**

**For the next chapter, I'm going to slow things down a bit before getting into the next girl. I don't want to overload things. So it will be sort of a transition chapter. Don't worry it will still be plot essential...for the most part ;).**

**As always leave a comment/review to let me know what you think, vote in the poll, and thanks for reading!**


	8. Three Card Shuffle

"That's it, Mira! Arch your back a little more!"

"Like this?" The barmaid's question was answered by the rapid clicking of the camera's shutter. It seems like she had done what she was supposed to.

"Yep, just like that! Hold still for just a second…got it! Now lay on your back!"

"Ok."

Jason moved into position, towering over the barmaid. Mirajane was more than a little embarrassed. "Can you fold your arms under your chest and push up a little bit?" he requested.

"I-I'll try." Mirajane did as she was told and folded her arms under her chest, pushing her breasts up just enough for her cleavage to be perfectly under the camera. "Is this good enough?"

"Perfect! Now smile!" Jason took a few more pictures while over her before lying a few centimeters away and taking more.

"Is that it?" Mirajane was starting to get tired.

"Last one and we're done for the day. Can you stand against that rock over there?" Jason directed Mirajane's eyes to a large rock that pointed up from the sands of the beach.

"Alright." The barmaid walked to the rock. "Now what?"

"Face the rock and look back at me."

Mirajane pressed herself against the rock. It wasn't hot enough to burn her, but the sensation did make her blush a bit. "How's this?"

"Great! Now turn your head but look at the camera with a devilish grin."

"Devilish?"

"Yeah, think about guy you like. You're teasing him to come over to you."

"Oh! I see now!" Mirajane realized. She fluffed her long, white hair until it obscured her right eye and looked over her should. She arched her back, her round buttocks poking out more as she looked to the camera with lustful eyes. She capped off the sexy pose by biting the side of her bottom lip. "How's this?" she asked in a sultry voice.

Natsu - who was a bit further down the beach - felt an odd stirring at the base of his neck. His ears tingled. "What was that?"

Jason was getting goosebumps. "Oh~! So sexy! I envy whatever guy you were just thinking of! Now hold that pose…a~nd got it! That's it for the day."

Mirajane relaxed. She was finally done. Once again the time had come for the monthly spread in Sorcerer Weekly, and once again it was Mirajane's turn to pose as centerfold. She had been doing suggestive poses for over two hours, and her body was aching all over from all of the ways she had to turn to get what Jason called "the perfect shot". Normally the time of these photoshoots were no problem for her – her longest was almost five hours - but this one was different. This time she wanted to get done as quickly as possible.

"Thanks again, Mira." Jason said as he put his camera away. "I'll see you next time. Enjoy the resort."

"I will. Have a safe trip back home." Mirajane waved to the reporter as he departed.

Usually the reward for the model's time was a sizable amount of jewel and an advance copy of that monsth's magazine, but this shoot was different. Since the issue Mirajane had just posed for was the Summer Edition, the magazine offered her two complimentary - all expenses paid - tickets to Akane Resort. Seeing this as a golden opportunity for a romantic getaway, Mirajane practically dragged a mildly reluctant Natsu along with her.

After seeing Jason off Mirajane returned to the beach with a spring in her step. _I'm finally done! Now I can spend the next three days relaxing with Natsu! _When she saw the pink-haired object of her affection in the ocean, her mood skyrocketed. "Natsu~!" she called happily, quickening her pace so she could join him.

He turned to her with a smile. "Oh hey, Mira! That was fast. Done already?"

"I am!" She nodded happily as she stood at the water's edge. "Now how about you and I get things back on track and-"

Erza suddenly rose from the ocean, cutting Mirajane's proposal short. "You've finally returned." the knight noted. "I thought those photoshoots were much longer."

"About time." Cana said as she walked to Mirajane next, sipping on a drink she had bought from the stand a small distance away.

Mirajane's spirits quickly fell to abyssmal levels after seeing her female guildmates. "You two are still here I see." She said dryly.

"Where else would we be?" Cana asked after taking another sip of her beverage. She wished she was drinking a cold beer at the guild, but following Natsu, Erza, and Mirajane was a form of entertainment that was too good to pass up. "Not every day you get invited to the famous Akane Resort."

"But neither of you were invited!" Mirajane loudly reminded. "This was only supposed to be for me and Natsu. Right?" the barmaid gave the dragon slayer an expectant look, but he looked at her with confusion. Mirajane heaved a heavy sigh. _How dense can you be?_

"No need to frown, Mira." Erza said. She walked onto the shore and stopped in front of Mirajane. "This is an excellent opportunity for all of us to get better acquainted with one another. We are all friends and guildmates after all. When is the last time we've been able to take time and relax like this." The redhead spoke with dignity, but Mirajane saw through her facade.

"Of course." Mirajane flashed a hollow smile. She knew exactly what Erza was up to. "You make a good point, Erza."

"I do?" Erza quickly caught herself with a cough. "I-I mean yes. Of course I do."

Natsu watched from the ocean. Though Mirajane and Erza were smiling, he could tell from the uneasiness in the air that they were anything but happy. Though he did get a better view of their attire from his distance. Erza was wearing a plain black bikini, but as always it accented her figure very well - especially her chest and butt. Mirajane's swimwear was a bit bolder in nature – no doubt due to her recent photo shoot – the barmaid sported a black and white strapless bikini, but the top was small enough where it appeared she would bust out of it at any moment. In fact both of the girls looked like they would be free of the constricting garments at any second.

"I see you are still wearing your modeling attire." Erza commented to Mirajane.

"Well I decided that it would be a waste to change out of it since I was going for a swim anyway." the barmaid retorted.

"Understandable. Though it looks a bit tight on you."

"Funny, I was going to say the same about yours." Mirajane pointed. "I hope you aren't uncomfortable in that."

"Thank you for your concern, but I'm perfectly fine with my swimsuit."

"So, Natsu…" Cana began.

"Hm?" he turned his attention to the brunette. He internally thanked her for distracting him with her surprisingly conservative swimsuit. She wore a tight blue bikini top, but had a black sarong tied around her waist, hiding away from view everything above the knee.

She pointed to the bickering Mirajane and Erza with her thumb. "It looks like they're going to be a while. Let's go have some fun, huh?" She smiled and grabbed the dragon slayer by the wrist, pulling him along behind.

"Hold on, Cana." Natsu said. He managed to free himself from the brunette's grip and stopped walking. He looked back to the still bickering S-Class wizards. "What about Mira and Erza?"

"They'll catch up. We should hurry before the amusement park lines get full."

Natsu accepted her answer with shrug of indifference and started walking again. Taking in the calm serenity of the beach, Natsu almost ran into two little girls. Moving out of the way, he watched as they passed by him, twirling and giggling as girls their age so often did. Natsu looked at them for a moment out of a mild form of curiosity.

The girl's were about Wendy's height, meaning they were possibly the same age as well. They both had long black hair; their skin was slightly more tanned than Cana's, and they both had the same shade of green in their eyes. They even wore matching one-piece swimsuits, which had frills along with yellow and black stripes. The only noticeable difference between them was the barrette's in their hair. The girl on the right's resembled the sun, while her sister's barrette looked like the moon.

"Mona! Mina! Watch where you're going, you two!" A voice called to the girls.

Natsu turned and saw a young man – not much older than he – approach him. His hair was the same color as the ocean, his green swim shorts matching the tint in his eyes. "I'm sorry about that." He apologized to the dragon slayer. "Those two tend to be excitable."

Natsu regained his bearings. "Oh, it's no problem. They didn't bump into me or anything. No harm no foul." He smiled.

"Still I feel the need to apologize." The mysterious man said. Natsu couldn't quite place it, but something about this guy felt…off. It was a dangerous feeling. A small voice was telling him to get away from this person as quickly as possible.

"Come on, Luke!" Mina yelled.

"Yeah, hurry up!" Mona added.

"Natsu, hurry up or we'll get stuck in the lines!" Cana called.

The blue-haired boy – now known to Natsu as Luke – chuckled. "Looks like we're both being strung along by the fairer sex."

"Huh? Oh…yeah." Natsu nodded.

"Well, I'm going to hold you any longer. Sorry again about Mina and Mona." Luke smiled and walked past Natsu. "Ok. Ok. I'm coming." He said to the twins. "Where are we going first?"

Natsu looked to the trio as they shrunk from view the further down the beach they went. _What was up with that guy?_ _Kind of gave me the creeps._

"Natsu, didn't you hear me?" Cana's voice brought the dragon slayer back to reality. She then looked to the Luke and the twins. "Who was that guy? Did you know him or something?"

"No, I don't." Natsu replied. "At least…I don't think I do."

Thinking no more of it, Cana wrapped her around Natsu's neck and pulled him into a headlock. "Well then quit spacing out. We still have an amusement park to get to." She squeezed him tighter, knowing full well that his head was directly against the underside of her breast.

Natsu's body began to heat up. "C-C-Cana!" he stuttered out. "Let me go!" he flailed around.

"No can do, dragon boy. I gotta make sure you don't get lost again." She pulled Natsu along by the head, the dragon slayer struggling all the way to the park.

* * *

"Do you two mind? You're blocking my sun."

Erza and Mirajane briefly stopped their bickering and looked down. Lying on towel beneath them was a young girl around the same age as Lucy. She wore a dark-green sling bikini on her rather slender body. Her risque suit even made Mirajane blush. Her dark shades were also somewhat covered by the bangs of her short, purple hair.

"Who are you?" Erza asked at a loss. The girl currently chiding them had seemingly appeared out of nowhere. _When did she get here?_

"Someone trying to get a tan." The young lady sniped. "Now will you two hens move your argument somewhere else? You are increasing my tanning time by two minutes for each second you block the sun."

"Why you-"Erza moved to teach the flippant girl some discipline but - surprisingly - she was stopped by Mirajane.

"We're sorry for bothering you." The barmaid apologized with a smile. "We'll move out of your way."

"See that you do." The girl retorted.

Mirajane's eyebrow twitched in irritation at the girl's attitude, but she chose to take the high road instead of thrashing her - something she was starting to regret. She latched onto Erza's arm and pulled her away.

"Where are we going? Wait! Mirajane!"

The rude girl watched the barmaid drag the redhead away for a bit before resetting herself on her towel. "Finally." She sighed in relief. "Some people can be so inconsiderate. Now I have to spend ten extra minutes here."

"Claudia." a soft voice called.

She moved up her shades and saw a young man with dark blue hair standing over her with a soft smile. She moved the shades back over her eyes, seemingly unaffected by his overall presence. _Make that twelve minutes._ "Luke, you're in the way."

"My apologies." the ocean-haired young man stepped to the side. "Better?"

"Yes."

"Was being rude to those girls really necessary?"

"They were blocking my light." Claudia defended.

"You could have easily found somewhere else to tan."

"Due to the time of the day, this spot is angled directly under the sun. Therefore this is the best place on the entire beach to tan. However because of those two from earlier I will have to move twenty millimeters west in two hours."

Luke chuckled at her calculated response. "Always the accurate one, aren't you?"

"What took you so long to get here? You were five minutes late."

"I was with Mina and Mona."

"They would only account for two minutes of delay at the most. What of the other three minutes?"

"Well…" Luke began, he looked back to the twin girls as the played in the ocean. "I met **him**."

Claudia removed her shades to get a more even tan, but otherwise showed no change in her demeanor. "Really?"

Luke nodded. "Yes. He was quite the interesting fellow at first glance. If I didn't know better I would say he was afraid of me." he chuckled.

"What's our next move?"

"Just continue to relax. You all earned this day off." Luke smiled. "I'll let you see him later if you want. I doubt he'll be going anywhere anytime soon."

Claudia looked at the blissful smile on Luke's face for a moment. "You're a real odd one."

"Perhaps, but you have to admit I keep things entertaing for you."

"I admit nothing." Claudia retorted.

Despite her harsh tone Luke smiled. He turned on his heel and began walking towards the ocean. "By the way, I like your skin no matter its tone."

Claudia's cheeks instantly burned red and she sat up. "It's not like I'm doing this for you or anything!" she shrieked in embarrassment.

"I know." Luke waved back. "Don't stay there too long, ok? You'll get sunburn."

Claudia laid on her back, her cheeks still red. "There's no way I'll get a sunburn." She grumbled. "Idiot."

"Why did you pull me away?" Erza irritably asked after Mirajane had let go of her. The two had walked far away from where they were previously. "I was going to teach that rude woman a lesson in manners."

"It wasn't worth it." Mirajane said. "Besides, I got this weird feeling from her."

"Weird how?"

"I don't really know how to explain it, but something told me we shouldn't have messed with her. Besides, we came here to have fun. Not pick fights."

Erza folded her arms and thought on this. To be honest she had the same feeling, but she chose to ignore it. _How odd that Mirajane felt the same thing I did._ she thought. She relaxed her muscles and exhaled. "You're right. I let my emotions get the better of me. I apologize."

"It's ok." Mirajane accepted. "I'm sorry too. Now that we're all cooled down…" Mirajane visually scanned the beach, taking note of all the people enjoying their time at the resort. However, she noticed that her guest of honor was missing. "Where did Natsu go? I saw him earlier."

"Cana is gone as well." Erza reported. Slowly her and Mirajane's eyes widened in realization. "You don't think they…?"

"She did it again!" Mirajane yelled in frustration. "She probably snuck off with him while we were arguing."

"We have to find them." Erza declared. She remembered what happened the last time she caught Cana alone with Natsu, and she was not going to allow the lush the same opportunity a second time.

"You're right! Let's hurry!" Mirajane shouted. The two took off to the amusement park.

* * *

"I can't believe I lost 50,000 jewel!" Cana groaned as she stumbled into the hotel room. "I won't be able to buy booze for a month!" she flopped onto the bed face first, her angered – and muffled – grunts echoing through the spacious room.

Natsu sat on the chair across from her. He was more than glad to be off his feet. After getting motion sickness from nearly every ride at the amusement, Cana dragged him to the Casino. Thanks to her dress – a tight, backless number whose hem stopped just below her bottom – the two gained much more attention than Natsu wanted. Add on to the fact that he had to fend off all male patrons who were hitting on her and you end up with one very exhausted dragon slayer.

"What's been going on with you lately?" Cana muffled.

"Hm?"

Cana sat on the edge of the bed, the pillow her face was previously in now in her lap. "Natsu, I may drink a lot but that doesn't mean I don't know what's going on around me. You've been out of it ever since Erza brought that box."

"No I haven't." Natsu defended. Cana was right of course, that box is where all of this crazy arcana stuff began, but he was not going to admit that.

"Why did you want to learn about the Arcana?" the brunette interrogated. "That's some really old magic."

"I told you before." Natsu asserted. "I was just curious."

"We both know you don't get curious about stuff like that without a reason. Just tell me what's going on. I'm sure I can help you better than anyone else." It was a bit shocking to Cana that she cared so much. She didn't really no why she was so deadest on figuring out what was wrong with Natsu, but she knew that she wanted to know. Perhaps it was because they were guildmates.

Natsu sighed in defeat. Cana was right in a way, since this was related to her magic in a sense, she would be the best person to help him after Betty. Natsu also thought it would probably be best to have an outside source on this sort of thing for whenever he couldn't contact Betty. He stood up from his chair, turned his back to Cana, and pulled off his shirt. The brunette's eyes widened when she saw the three tattoos lined beneath one another on his spine.

"Where did you get those?"

Natsu explained to Cana everything that had been happening to him over the past few weeks. He mentioned the Arcana as well as all of the things that Betty had told him. He even revealed which of the Arcana the girls represented. It was a lot to process, but Cana accepted it with an open mind.

"Devil's Arcana, huh?" She slowly traced Natsu's third tattoo – which was the ancient numeral for fifteen, XV - with her finger, sending a chill up Natsu's spine. "I always pictured myself as more of a Temperance kind of girl." She teased.

"Can you help me out?" Natsu asked.

"Honestly, I don't really know what to do. I never heard of Arcana magic doing something like this. This is beyond me. Looks like that Betty woman is your only lifeline for this. Sorry."

Natsu sulked. "Great. Now I'm back at square one."

"Cheer up. It doesn't look like anything bad is happening right now, so I wouldn't worry too much about it." There was Cana's laid-back attitude again. "The old woman said you just have to keep collecting Arcana and you'll get stronger, right?"

"Yeah?"

"So why not just keep doing that for the time being? Just round up some girls with whatever arcana you need and make a harem. Every guy wants a harem."

"I don't know how to see arcana. They just pop up at random times." Natsu explained. "Besides, I don't like using people like that."

Cana was taken aback by Natsu's objection. He continued.

"I mean yeah I want to get stronger. I wanna be the strongest wizard ever, but if I have to manipulate people - especially girls - to do that then I'd rather just forget it altogether. That's not right. That's what jerks do."

Cana suddenly grabbed Natsu's head and pressed it against her chest. The dragon slayer blushed. "Cana?" he looked up to her, seeing a soft smile on her lips.

"You're a good guy, Natsu." Cana complimented as she rubbed his head. "Someday you'll make a very lucky girl very happy."

Cana's alluring scent invaded Natsu's sensitive nostrils. She smelled like sweet chocolate. The dragon slayer gulped as his face continued to heat up. "T-thanks. Could you let go now?"

Cana squeezed tighter. "Hey, I'm complimenting you here and you're blowing me off? How rude." She pouted. She was not all offended by Natsu's comment, but she couldn't help but tease him. His flustered expressions amused her to no end.

"Sorry I just mean that-" Cana having pushed Natsu onto the bed and straddled his waist. She held down his hands with her wrists, her hungry eyes causing him to sweat even more. "C-Cana? What are you doing?" he nervously asked.

"This is second time you and I have been alone in a hotel room. I think that might be fate trying to tell us something." She licked her lips, earning a loud gulp from Natsu in response. "Maybe we should pick up where we left off in Crocus."

Natsu tried to free himself, but Cana was surprisingly strong. He could have forced her off he had a bite more leverage, but the bed was too soft.

"Don't worry, I'll be gentle." Cana puckered her lips and slowly bent over. The closer she came, the louder Natsu's heart thumped. When she was a centimeter away from his lips she smiled wide and pulled up. "Gotcha. You're so easy, Natsu."

"What the hell, Cana?!" Natsu yelled.

"Sorry." She laughed. "I just couldn't resist teasing you a bit."

"Well fun's over. Could you get off me now?"

Before Cana could move the locks of the door began turning and muffled voices from outside slowly became clearer. "Oops." Cana said with a coquettish grin. "Looks like she's finally back."

Natsu began to panic. "What? Who's back?! Did you break into someone's room?!"

"Kind of."

"What does that mean?!"

The door of the room opened, revealing Mirajane and Erza to a frightened Natsu and a smiling Cana. The S-Class pair blushed when they saw the compromising position Natsu and Cana were, but due to the low light they didn't know who they were at first glance.

"P-please forgive our intrusion." Erza bowed quickly, her face the same color as her hair.

"We clearly have the wrong room." Mirajane nervously giggled. "We'll be leaving now. Sorry for bothering you two" Mirajane slammed the door out of embarrassment, leaving Natsu and Cana alone.

"Was that just-" Natsu began.

"Give it a minute." Cana said.

A few seconds later the door flew open again, and Mirajane and Erza returned. Though this time they were pissed.

"How did you get in here, Cana?!" Mirajane demanded. "This is mine and Natsu's room!"

"Our what?!" Natsu shouted in complete shock. He looked back to Cana who simply winked at him.

"I told you I kind of stole it." she reminded the dragon slayer.

Erza turned her frustrations at Cana to Mirajane. "A room with Natsu? How dare you plot something like this behind my back, Mirajane?" Erza glared at her rival.

"You two weren't supposed to be here anyway." Mirajane retorted. "I saw no reason to tell you anything."

"Why, you..."

Cana got off of Natsu and walked to the angered S-Class wizards. She tried to calm down the situation. "Natsu and I weren't doing anything." She explained. "You two just calm down and-"

Erza summoned a sword and pointed the tip to Cana's throat. "I'll deal with you after Mirajane."

"Oh yeah?" Mirajane challenged. She transformed into her Satan Soul form. "I'd like to see you try, Red."

Erza responded by requipping into her Purgatory armor. "Gladly."

"Hey." Cana called, pulling out a deck of cards. "I'm all game if you guys want to fight." She normally didn't fight if she could avoid, but the lack of booze was starting to affect her better judgement.

Despite the dangerous aura emanating from the three women, Natsu suddenly felt himself reenergized. "A fight?!" he exclaimed, alarming all the girls. "Count me in!" he jumped from the bed and into the air, an eager grin on his lips and a fist covered in flames.

All the girls looked up in fright. they shouted in unison: "Natsu, wait!"

_**FIRE DRAGON IRON FIST**_

* * *

The four Fairy Tail wizards walked back to Magnolia in the dead of night with bruises and scratches all over bodies, and their heads hung low in shame. After nearly destroying the resort during their four-way brawl: Natsu Dragneel, Erza Scarlet, Mirajane Strauss, and Cana Alberona were now officially banned from Akane Resort…**for life**.

"I've been kicked out of a lot of bars, but I didn't think I'd ever be banned from a vacation resort." Cana said. "Thanks, Natsu."

"I said I was sorry." The dragon slayer sulked lower.

"That's not good enough." Erza scolded. "You have to learn to restrain yourself! You could have injured someone with your reckless behavior."

"You were brawling too." Natsu muttered under his breath.

"What was that?" Erza glared.

"I didn't say anything!" Natsu quickly replied in fright.

"Master Makarov is going to tear us a new one when he hears about this." Cana sighed.

"I thought it was fun." Mirajane spoke up.

Natsu, Cana, and Erza abruptly stopped walking and turned to Mirajane. They couldn't believe their ears. The resort was initially only for her and Natsu, but she spent little to no time with him while they were there. Now she was happy they were all banned for life? Something didn't add up.

"What?" the barmaid questioned, unnerved by her friend's concerned stares.

"How hard were you hit?" Cana inquired with a raised eyebrow.

"You must have suffered a serious blow to the head during the fight to say something like that." Erza reasoned. "Do you want to us to take you to a hospital?"

"Are you alright, Mira?" Natsu asked.

Mirajane puffed out her cheeks in a pout. "I'm fine. I wasn't hurt any more than the rest of you. I was just saying all that I had fun. We let off a lot of steam and stress, didn't we?"

Everyone else pondered this question for a second. They then all smiled at the barmaid.

"Yeah!" Natsu answered with a wide smile. "That felt great!"

"I can't really argue that." Cana grinned. "I almost forgot how hard Erza could hit."

"You've improved a lot as well, Cana." Erza complimented. "I haven't seen you get that serious in a long time."

"Well I can't relay on Fairy Glitter all the time."

"My neck still hurts from being thrown into the bar." Natsu laughed, rubbing the back of the sore area.

"Sorry about that." Mirajane giggled. "That was just me getting revenge for you kicking me into the pool."

"That was Erza." Natsu corrected.

"You were the nearest person I saw when I got out." Mirajane smiled.

As the four looked fondly looked back on their brawl. They didn't notice that they were being watched from the behind the trees on the hill above them by four shadowed figures.

"**He's** the Fool?" Claudia said in disbelief as she pointed at Natsu. "That can't be possible. He's a complete buffoon."

"I did say he was an interesting fellow." Luke noted. "He also seems to have also captured some very powerful Arcana." He pointed to Erza. "Strength." Then Mirajane. "Empress." And finally Cana. "Devil."

"How does someone like him already possess three of the strongest Arcana?" Claudia asked. "Once more, how are those two airheads from earlier candidates for Strength and Empress?"

"What do we do now, Luke?" Mina asked.

"Do we fight them?" Mona inquired.

"No. They currently pose no threat to us. We should leave them be for now. There are still plenty of other Arcana to collect."

"Is that really the smart thing to do?" Claudia asked. "What if he gets more Arcana? We should take them from him now before he deepens the bond and-"

"We will cross that bridge when we come to it, Claudia." Luke firmly interrupted.

Claudia narrowed her eyes at him. "You want him to get stronger, don't you?"

"Is that so wrong?" Luke smiled. "**She** did pick him after all. That must mean something in the long run."

"You said that about the last one."

"Did I? Well after so long you tend to lose count, but this one is different. I can feel it. We'll continue to observe him for now." Luke let loose an evil grin. "I wonder how far he'll go."

Natsu and the girls enjoyed the walk back home with wide smiles and fulfilling memories, completely unaware of the danger looming over the horizon.

* * *

**New chapter! Sort of an omake, but I decided to add some plot for later. Looks like Natsu's not the only one out there collecting Arcana. I wonder how this will all play out. We'll just have to wait and see.**

**Thanks to everyone that participated in the poll! Got a lot of votes this time around and that's always good.**

**Based on the results it looks like there is going to be rain in the forecast for our pink-haired Romeo. **

**That's right! The next girl is Juvia Lockser! This should be interesting.**

**I'll have the first chapter of her story up as soon as I can, but until then leave a comment/review letting me know what you think, and thanks for reading! :)**


	9. Drowning in Love I

A new day dawned as the sun rose over the peaceful town of Magnolia. Feeling mischievous, the bright yellow star chose to shine its rays through the white curtains of a room located on the second floor of the Fairy Hills dormitory. The determined light ray pierced through the curtains, finding its mark on the face of a smiling blue-haired girl.

Her eyelids twitching at the warmth of the sun's ray, Juvia turned over and opened her eyes. Yawning she slowly rose up from the softness of her pillow and looked down at the plushie of Gray cradled in her arms. The scowl. The messy dark hair. The fact that the cotton doll was also missing a shirt. It was indeed a perfect match for its inspiration. Juvia smiled and lovingly kissed the doll on the forehead, the stitched cotton tickling her somewhat dry lips. "Good morning, beloved."

This was how Juvia Lockser started her mornings.

After fixing her bed – taking extra care to place her Gray effigy in between her pillows, which also had Gray's face on them – Juvia made her way towards her bathroom, but not before blowing a kiss to the poster of Gray hanging next to the entrance door of her room. After she finished cleaning her body in the shower she dried herself off, put on her signature coat and hat, and exited her room. A noticeable spring in her step, Juvia practically jumped downstairs, where the rest of the residents awaited her.

"Good morning, Juvia." Erza greeted with a smile.

"Good morning~!" The rain woman sang in response.

"You're in high spirits this morning."

"Yeah, I don't think I've ever seen you smile like that." Levy commented with a smile of her own.

"Am I really smiling that much?" Juvia blushed, covering her red cheeks. "I hadn't noticed."

"Why the joyful mood?" Cana asked. "Gray finally give in and agree to take you on a date?"

Juvia blushed even harder. "What?! Oh, no. Nothing like that." Though she desperately wished that were the case. "It is just such a lovely day outside. I have a feeling something good may happen today."

"Well that is certainly a good feeling to have." Erza nodded in agreement. "Wendy went on job this morning so we have some leftover food. Come and have breakfast with us. We can all leave for the guild together."

"Ok." Juvia nodded happily.

* * *

Upon reaching the guild hall with her fellow residents, Juvia's mood quickly soured. To her lament, the object of her affection, i.e. Gray, was nowhere to found. Her good mood withered away even more when she was told that he had gone on a job…with Lucy. _Curse my love rival!_ Juvia thought. _She was probably waiting for the perfect opportunity to be alone with my Gray!_ Her happiness now completely snuffed out, Juvia dragged her feet to the bar. The only thing keeping her from completely sinking into sadness was the promise of his return later in the day.

Sitting on the stool closest to the barrels of alcohol, she pouted.

"Why so down?" Cana asked. She was already sipping from her morning libation. "Is it because Gray's gone?"

Juvia answered with a short nod complete with a dissatisfied huff. "He went on a job with…**her**." She refused to say Lucy's name aloud, but the simple pronoun she used to substitute for the offending blonde was laced with enough venom that it would kill on contact if Levy used it in her script magic.

Cana looked around the guild hall. "Since both Lucy and Wendy are gone, I'm guessing 'her' is one of them. Most likely Lucy." She took another sip of alcohol and Juvia's mood darkened even more at the mention of the blonde's proper name.

"Cheer up." Cana said. "He'll be back later. You can jump his bones then."

Juvia continued to pout.

"Just relax and try to enjoy the atmosphere." Cana advised. "Go on a job on your own or something. There's much more here to look at then Gray you know."

While Juvia was not too happy with Cana's candid remarks about her beloved, she took the brunette's advice and decided to look around the guild hall. Surprisingly it was nowhere near as rowdy and raucous as it usually was. It was the perfect example of a "slow day".

To Juvia's immediate right was Mirajane, happily humming to herself as she and Kinana cleaned the bar mugs and glasses. It was a simple task, but both of them seemed rather content with the tedium of it. A bit further down from the pair of barmaids sat Erza, gleefully biting into a piece of her strawberry cake. Juvia saw the steam billowing from the top of the mug next to the knight's cake plate and was close enough to catch the aroma on the fringes of her nose. Oolong tea. With just a hint of honey.

Moving her attentions away from the bar, the rain woman directed her gaze to the rest of her guildmates spread out across the spacious hall.

At table closest to the stage, Macao and Wakaba discussed women and "good ole days" while Romeo rolled his eyes in exasperation. Not too far from them sat Lisanna and Elfman, conversing on whatever it was siblings talked about in their free time – Juvia was not really knowledgeable about those sort of topics, though she could have sworn she heard a certain dragon slayer's name escape the lips of the youngest Strauss sibling.

Searching for a more familiar face, Juvia spotted Gajeel close to the guild entrance along with Pantherlily and Team Shadowgear. The Iron Dragon was currently holding a mini concert for the exceed and Shadowgear – the latter most likely attending at Levy's urging. From what Juvia could discern from the looks on his audience's faces Gajeel was not performing too well, but you couldn't tell by the satisfied look on his face. The scene roused an amused chuckle from the rain woman. She remembered when Gajeel would ask – or rather forced - her to listen to new songs he had written when they were a part of Phantom Lord. He still had the same amount of "talent" back then as he did now, but Juvia always encouraged him to keep going. _You can do it, Gajeel._

Juvia continued to scan through the guild. It was an oddly calm feeling. She never noticed her other guildmates much because of Gray's constant presence in her mind - in fact this was the longest time since joining Fairy Tail that she had gone without thinking about the ice wizard. As she watched her guild with these fresh eyes, she could not help but smile at how picturesque the view of them was.

Laki working on odd wooden sculptures. Reedus serenely painting the cityscape as he sat by the window. Nab standing stone-like in front of the job request board. Max and Warren discussing how best to market Fairy Tail's female members in order to drive up merchandise sales – something that Juvia was not too pleased about. Alzack and Bisca carefully listening as Asuka explained the importance of ladybugs. Even the Thunder Legion were not immune to the doldrums of the day as Freed, Bixlow, and Evergreen casually talked amongst one another while waiting for Laxus to return from a job.

So many different people with various different personalities and hobbies doing so many different things but still managing to come together as one guild. It all astounded Juvia, filling with a small warmth that she didn't know she could feel without Gray around. It wasn't that she didn't like her guildmates, far from it. She just never really got to know them. Though just taking in all of this scenery before her made her feel she was one step closer to closing that gap.

As her wandering gaze fell to a table a few meters away from the bar, Juvia's mood soured once again. The table earning her irritated glare was currently occupied by Natsu Dragneel, who was blissfully sleeping away the day as Happy ate fish at his side.

Natsu Dragneel. No matter how hard Juvia tried, Natsu was the one man she could not seem to like. It wasn't that she hated him, in fact she acknowledged his strength and knew full well the impact he had both on the guild and people of Magnolia. Juvia respected Natsu. She just didn't like him.

He was a loud, obnoxious, cocky, invasive, thick-headed, rude brute; but those were not the sole reasons she disliked him – Gajeel had these same qualities and Juvia got along with him just fine. No, she disapproved of the pink-haired trouble maker because of his constant bothering of Gray. **Her** Gray. Every day Natsu would pick a fight with her beloved over the most trivial of reasons and in turn all the ice wizards time would be preoccupied with dealing with him. It irritated Juvia to no end. Natsu was simply jealous of Gray according to Juvia. She had long since wanted to put an end to this behavior, and now was the perfect chance. If she did nothing, her darling Gray would never have a moment of peace.

Juvia got down from her stool and marched to Natsu's table.

"Hi, Juvia!" Happy chirped as she approached.

"Hello, Happy." She replied with a warming smile. Though she didn't care for Natsu, Juvia got along just fine with his aptly named companion.

"Gray's not here."

"I know. I actually wish to speak with Natsu."

"Good luck. He's been sleeping since we got here. I tried waking him but it's like he's dead to the world. Want some of my fish?" He offered her the half eaten salmon in his paws.

"No thank you." Juvia politely declined.

Happy shrugged. "More for me."

As the tomcat returned to his meal, Juvia turned her attention to Natsu's slumbering form, casually listening in on his groggy mumbles.

"I had to tell her…" he mumbled. "I can't talk to you all the time now can I?"

Juvia was most confused by the scene beneath her, whatever Natsu was dreaming about it must have been very vivid. _Who is he talking to?_

"Go back?" he muttered. "Fine…see you later…" he trailed off and exhaled deeply through his nostrils. His eyelids twitched a bit before fully opening. When his onyx orbs were fully revealed to the world, the first sight he saw was the rather tense form of Juvia Lockser. "Hey, Juvia." He yawned. "What's up?"

She said nothing to him for a few seconds. She was trying to find the right words to say. Should she just come right out and say what she thought of him? Or should she cushion her words so they were less harsh? It was an interesting conundrum she found herself in. She had to be firm, but at the same time she didn't want to come off as crass or callous. Though at that same token she didn't want to be too passive, otherwise her request would be ignored. Natsu was starting to get worried about her silence.

"Um, Juvia? You ok?"

Juvia exhaled, having finally come a decision. "Please leave Gray alone." She requested.

Natsu was caught completely off guard. "Huh?"

"You constantly pester him, make fun of him, and challenge him to meaningless fights. He is clearly upset by your behavior so I ask that you stop and please keep your jealousy to yourself." She said, this time with a bit more force.

Natsu had no idea what to say. Jealousy? Why would he be jealous of Gray? Gray had nothing that Natsu wanted, and even if he did Natsu resolved that he would find something much cooler to replace it with anyway. While at a loss for words and confused of his supposed "jealousy", Natsu still felt guilty for some reason. Juvia asking him to stop fighting with Gray was much different than Erza or Lucy requesting the same. Erza had been playing the role of referee between them for years so they were used to her chiding – as well as her beatings - and Lucy was more indifferent to their brawls as long as they only injured each other and not others - which never went according to plan.

Perhaps it was because this was the most Juvia has ever said to him at a given time that made Natsu feel bad. This - for all intents and purposes - was the first time Natsu and Juvia had really spoken directly to one another without the others as a buffer, and she basically told him off. _Did I mess up somewhere?_ He thought. _Am I really that much of a bother to Juvia?_ From the stern look in the rain woman's eyes it seemed that was exactly the case. _Why do I really care?_ Nonetheless he conceded to her request out of respect for Juvia as a guildmate – not that she saw him as a friend.

He nodded in acceptance. "Alright. I'll stop messing with Gray."

Juvia bowed her head. "Thank you." She then looked down at the table. "Please clean up your drool."

"Hm?" Natsu looked down at the translucent liquid on the table's wooden surface. "Oh!" he grabbed a nearby napkin and quickly wiped it up – along with the trail running from his mouth. "Sorry about that."

Juvia turned on her heel and walked back to the bar, the earlier spring her step seemingly back. _I did it!_ She cheered internally. _That went perfectly well. If only that was as easy with my darling. Now that my beloved Gray will no longer have to worry about Natsu's constant fits of jealousy, he and I can spend more time together._ She practically bounded back to the bar as she fantasized about all the things she and Gray would do since they no longer had to worry about Natsu.

"What did you do?" Happy asked Natsu. He was taken aback by how stern Juvia was.

"Beats me." He shrugged. "That was weird. Think she hates me?"

Happy took another bite of his meal. "Probably." he answered with full cheeks.

Juvia returned to her stool, humming happily to herself at a job well done. She slowly fell into uneasiness when she noticed the questionable – and slightly disapproving - looks she was getting from those at the bar. Chiefly from Erza, Mirajane, and Cana.

"That was a little harsh, Juvia. Don't you think?" Cana asked.

Juvia was genuinely confused by the brunette's inquiry. "Did I do something wrong?"

"Don't get me wrong I'm glad we won't have to worry about those two brawling all over the guild hall for the foreseeable future, but you didn't have to be so hard on Natsu."

Juvia looked back to the young man in question. He and Happy were laughing and talking at their table. Nothing seemed wrong to juvia. In fact it looked as if her conversation with the dragon slayer never even happened.

Before she could respond to Cana, Master Makarov descended the stairs with a piece of paper in his hand.

"Heads up, brats, we have a special job request." He announced.

"A special job request?" Erza repeated. Her cake and tea now finished, she gave Makarov her immediate attention, as did the rest of the guild.

"That's what I said." The old man nodded in confirmation. "I need to see Natsu and Juvia right now."

The summoned wizards promptly appeared before Makarov.

"Yes, Master?" Juvia asked.

"What do you need, Gramps?" Natsu added.

Makarov handed the paper in his hand to Juvia, who proceeded to read it to herself. "The client specifically asked for the two of you to take this job." he said.

Both Natsu and Juvia eyes widened in shock. "What?" they said in unison.

Their friends echoed their surprise.

"Natsu and Juvia on a job together? That should be interesting." Laki commented.

"Nobody tell Gray." Max teased.

"I never expected I would see them on a job together." Mirajane said. She knew that Juvia had no romantic interest – platonic either if the pair's earlier exchange was any indication - in Natsu, but the barmaid couldn't help but feel a bit of jealousy at the fact they were going on a job alone. _It seems like everyone can go on a job with Natsu but me._ She cursed her diminished abilities.

"Well this won't be awkward at all." Cana commented sarcastically. She was currently on her third mug of alcohol, and showed no signs of stopping anytime soon.

"You two are to go to the village of Geranium and aid them in the construction of their new hot springs." Makarov explained. "The mayor of the village said they will pay a rather large reward for our assistance."

That added bit of information made Natsu and Juvia realize exactly why Master Makarov was so adamant about them accepting this job.

"Surely they are better wizard's than us that can fulfill the request." Juvia argued. It was obvious to anyone watching that she was looking for anyway to get out of going on this job with Natsu. Not only would she be going with someone she had no business wanting to work with, but she would also be gone when Gray returned.

"They asked for a fire wizard and water wizard, and last I checked you and Natsu were specialists in those elements."

"Yes but, Master-"

"When do we leave?" Natsu interrupted. He didn't want to go with someone who didn't like him either, but Natsu thought it best to get this job over with as quickly as possible.

Makarov handed Natsu a map with directions to the village. "You will take the train to Hargeon, then it is about a three hour ride west by carriage to the village."

"Can't we just walk?" Natsu groaned. If he knew there was transportation involved he wouldn't have so readily accepted the job.

"That would take too long and they need you there by the end of the day. So you're just going to have to suck it up, Natsu."

"Fine." the dragon slayer huffed.

"Juvia, please keep an eye on him." Makarov requested. "If he gets too hot cool him down and we'll deal with it when you return."

Juvia understood the metaphor and nodded reluctantly. "Yes, Master."

"Excellent. You will both leave on the next train, so I suggest you hurry and grab your belongings."

"Right." They both nodded.

Natsu and Juvia went their separate ways to get ready for the job. As she watched the dragon stuff food into his bag, Juvia sighed in frustration. _First Gray leaves with that blonde homewrecker and now I have to go on a job with **him**?_ _Could this day get any worse?_

"Is it really a good idea to let them go on a job by themselves?" Cana asked Erza. "I mean it's not like those two really get along."

"I see no problem with it." Erza replied. "Natsu and Juvia are more than capable of handling themselves if trouble should arise. Besides this will be good for them to get to know one another better. Juvia will realize that Natsu is nowhere near as bad as she thinks."

"Are you ok with that?" Cana asked ominously.

Erza sat in silence for a few seconds before getting up from her stool. "I'll go check and see if Natsu needs anything to aid him on his trip." She quickly walked to his side, her cheeks red.

Cana then briefly looked to Mirajane, who responded with a suspicious gaze. The barmaid knew Cana's game and held out for as long as she could, but she too succumbed to her inner emotions.

"I'll prepare Natsu something to eat for the road." She ducked into the kitchen and began cooking.

Cana chuckled as she took another sip of her drink. _Seriously those two are way too easy._

* * *

Natsu and Juvia sat opposite one another on the train. Well to be more accurate, Juvia sat in her seat while Natsu laid lethargically on his stomach on the seat across from her. He groaned in pain, cursing his motion sickness.

"Why did we have to ride this stupid thing?!" he whined.

"Please stop complaining." Juvia requested, her patience wearing thin. "It will not make the train go any faster." She sat back in her seat and stared out of the window in frustration. _I can't believe that I have to go on a job with this person._ She fumed. _There must have been someone, anyone, else that he or I could have gone with. This is completely unfair. Now Gray will be saddened when he sees that I won't be at the guild to welcome him back._ She looked to Natsu, who had – thankfully - fallen asleep. Though his face was still twisted in pain.

A few minutes later the train made a complete stop in Hargeon station. After debating whether or not to leave him on the train, Juvia chose to wake her sleeping comrade. "Natsu." She shook his shoulder lightly. "The train's stopped. It's time to get off."

"It is?" Natsu answered groggily. "About time."

"Please hurry." Juvia advised firmly. She had already retrieved her bag from the overhead compartment.

"Ok. Ok." Natsu replied with a curtness of his own. "I'm getting up." Natsu stood up, grabbed his own bag from the overhead compartment, and followed Juvia out of the train. When the Fairy Tail wizards arrived outside of the station, Natsu looked around at all of the people walking about town. He was always surprised at the amount of people in the port town. Some were residents, but most were tourists who aimed to explore the country of Fiore as a whole.

"We should make our way to the carriage depot." Juvia suggested. "Otherwise we will have to walk to the village."

"I don't have a problem with that." Natsu voiced with a smile.

Juvia ignored his opinion and walked further into town.

"Juvia, wait up!" Natsu called. He soon caught up to her, but made sure to keep his distance. He knew that this was not the ideal situation for either of them, but Natsu wanted to at least make their first job together a positive one. Conversation was usually a good place to start. "So…It's pretty hot out today, huh?"

"I like the weather." Juvia replied curtly.

Strike one. Natsu tried a different approach. "Erza told me that they were building a new cake shop in the market district back in Magnolia. That makes what? Four now? It's like cake is all she thinks about." Natsu laughed.

"That's not very nice to say." Juvia retorted. "Erza is a very diligent individual. She can eat what she wants."

Strike two. "Yeah I know. I was just saying." Natsu shirked back. _Man, what's her problem?_ He wondered. _I'm just trying to be friendly but she keeps shutting me down._ "This isn't fun for me either, ya know, but we're stuck with each other for the time being." Natsu reminded the cold rain woman. "So instead of moping about we should-"

Juvia stopped walking, almost causing Natsu to bump into her. "Here's the depot."

Natsu looked at the small building that was set off by itself on the city's edge. "Well, we should go in I guess." Natsu said in defeat. He had struck out, and his stomach gurgled again.

* * *

Juvia's face was once again twisted in discomfort, Natsu's groaning had returned in full force. As the horse drawn carriage trotted down the dirt path, each bump caused Natsu more stomach pain. Juvia had lost count on how many times he had almost thrown up.

"Your friend ok in there?" The driver asked, hearing Natsu's death like moans.

"He has a severe case of motion sickness." Juvia answered with a dissatisfied sigh.

"Sorry to hear that. Well we should be reaching the halfway point soon. Had to take a bit of a detour."

"Why is that?"

"Bunch of bandits have been seen taking people out of the woods lately." The driver explained. "Makes it hard for guys like me to earn a living. You two are my first passengers in almost a month."

"Well you no longer have to worry." Juvia said proudly. "My travelling partner and I are wizards from the Fairy Tail guild. If these bandits do show up, we'll take care of them."

"Yeah." Natsu weakly agreed. "We'll kick-"his cheeks puffed out as he held back more vomit. He managed to swallow it back. "Their asses."

"Is that so?" the driver smiled. "I feel safer already." He looked to the horizon, it would be night soon. "You two should get some rest. We still have a little while to go."

"Thank you." Juvia nodded. She closed her eyes and drifted off the sleep, dreams of her sweet ice wizard awaiting her.

As soon as she fell asleep, the driver turned the horse towards the forest.

* * *

At the Fairy Tail guild things hadn't gotten much livelier since Gray, Lucy, and Wendy returned from their job. It was still just a lazy day.

"Wow, I can't believe someone picked Juvia and Natsu to go on a job." Lucy said.

"Do they not get along?" Wendy asked.

"It's not really that they don't get along…" Lucy trailed off.

"Juvia's just not the biggest fan of Natsu." Cana finished.

"Yeah. That's it." Lucy agreed.

"But why?" Wendy asked with genuine curiosity. "I know Natsu can be a bit rowdy but he's a really nice person."

"I don't really know actually." Lucy admitted.

"It's mostly Gray's fault." Cana pointed.

"How is it my fault?" the ice wizard retorted.

Lucy and Wendy looked at the ice wizard for a few moments before nodding sagely. It was if they had an epiphany.

"What's that look for?!" he shouted at them.

"There's no need to shout." Carla chided.

At the bar, Mirajane and Erza were feeling a faint uneasiness taking root within them. Cana felt as well. They couldn't really explain it, but they felt something bad was going to happen to Natsu. As if to confirm their suspicions, Master Makarov came down the stairs with a somewhat perpelxed look on his face. Erza was the first to approach him.

"Master, what's happened?"

"I just talked to the mayor of Geranium village. He said that Natsu and Juvia haven't shown up."

The words hit the three girls like a ton of bricks.

"What do you mean 'haven't shown up'?" Cana asked. "The village is only a couple hours away from Hargeon right?"

"Perhaps they stopped along the way." Mirajane suggested. She was trying her best to keep her mind off of the worst case scenario.

"No." Erza denied. "It's not like Natsu to get distracted before he takes a job."

"Juvia either." Cana added.

"What's going on?" Lucy asked. She, Gray Wendy, and Carla overheard the commotion. Lisanna and Happy joined them as well, the latter having stayed behind at Natsu's request.

"Natsu and Juvia haven't arrived at their job site yet." Cana answered.

"Maybe they got hung up somewhere." Gray suggested.

"That doesn't sound like Natsu." Lisanna argued.

"I hope they're ok." Wendy fretted.

"Aye." Happy nodded.

"We shouldn't worry ourselves." Carla reasoned. "Natsu and Juvia are perfectly capable of handling themselves if they must."

Everyone agreed with the tabby and relaxed.

"You're right, Carla." Erza said. "I should put more faith in them."

"Yeah." Cana igrinned. "With Natsu leading they probably just got lost."

Mirajane nodded in agreement. "That's completely possible."

"I'll contact the mayor and tell him to be on the lookout for them." Makarov said. "We should know if they made it there by morning."

Everyone nodded and Makarov went back to his office. The others all looked at one another with hints of worry. Despite their words, they could all feel that something was not right.

* * *

Natsu awoke to the sounds of bugs making noise. "Are we there?" he mumbled. He rose from his seat and saw Juvia still sleeping across from him. Upon looking outside the carriage, Natsu was confused to see nothing but trees. Even the driver was gone. "Is this the village?" he heard people talking and followed the sounds to a nearby bush a few meters away from the carriage. His eyes went wide in shock when he saw the driver accepting a handful of money from large man with dark gray hair and what looked to be a tattoo of a falcon on his shoulder. "What the hell?" Natsu focused so he could listen in on their conversation.

"Another job well done." The large man said.

The driver didn't look too happy despite the praise and large sum of money he just received. "Please, I can't do this anymore. Tricking all of these people and abducting them is just wrong."

"You just do what we say, pal, or your lovely wife and daughter are going to be on the next haul. Got me?" He pushed the driver down and began to laughing.

Natsu clenched his fist. _That jerk sold us out. I have to wake Juvia._ Natsu ran back to the carriage, but his rustling of the bushes was heard by the two men.

"Looks like one of them is awake." The big man grinned. "That'll make this fun."

The driver looked down to the dirt in shame, picking up the cash that was strewn along the ground. "I'm sorry. Forgive me." he muttered.

Natsu reached the carriage. "Juvia!" he shouted. "Juvia, wake up!"

The rain woman stirred awake. "Natsu? Have we arrived at the village?"

"That driver is working with the bandits! We have to go! Now!"

"What?" Juvia was still tired. "What do you mean-"a violent shaking of the carriage and frantic neighing of the horse forced her completely awake. A giant hand then broke through the top of the carriage, grabbed her by the arm, and pulled her out.

"Juvia!" Natsu looked to the top of the carriage and saw that the man from earlier was standing on top of it. He grinned maliciously at the dragon slayer as he held onto Juvia.

"Let me go!" The rain woman struggled about in the massive man's grip.

"You can't leave yet." he said. "Party's just starting."

As he said this more bandits arrived. There were at least fifteen of them holding various weapons. Some had knives, some had swords, others had staffs. It was rather harrowing situation, but Natsu knew they would all fall the same way no matter how many weapons they had. In all honesty he was excited, he hadn't hit anything all day, and he had plenty of pent up aggression thanks to his non-conversations with Juvia. He turned to face his attackers, his fists igniting as he smirked in anticipation.

"Hold on there, hothead." The large bandit said. "I wouldn't be so hasty to fight if I were you." He placed Juvia's right arm behind her back and held his forearm to her throat, lightly choking her. "You be mean to my friends, and I can't guarantee I'll be very gentlemanly to your girlfriend here." He tightened his grip, choking her even more.

Natsu briefly looked back to the man before refocusing on his friends. He wasn't bothered by his threat at all. "She's not my girlfriend."

Juvia's body began to melt and she loosed herself from her captor's grip, turning into a puddle before him.

"What the hell?!"

Juvia reconstituted herself and drew back her hand.

_**WATER CLAW**_

Juvia swung at the large man with a claw made of water, slashing his arm and forcing him from the top of the carriage and down to the ground. She looked down at him. "That will teach you to keep your hands to yourself."

The burly man grinned and looked at the blood that was on his forearm. "Wasn't expecting that."

Natsu fended off his numerous enemies with ease. He dodged the swing of a sword and answered with a punch. He then turned his body, narrowly avoiding a stab from one the knife wielders before countering with and elbow to the face. Jumping in the air to avoid blasts from the magic staff wielders, Natsu gathered flames in his right and left hands.

_**FIRE DRAGON BRILLIANT FLAME**_

He threw the massive fireball down to the ground, burning the assembled bandits and sending them flying in all directions. Once Natsu landed back on the ground, he looked around to make sure all of his opponents were down for the count. A bandit that managed to avoid the massive blast rushed him with his sword, but Natsu effortlessly knocked him out with a backfist without even looking at him. "Now to help Juvia." He began to move, but stopped when he noticed a small purple ball roll to his feet. "What is-"

It exploded, unleashing a plume of black gas into the air. Natsu covered his nose and mouth but the foul mist invaded his body before he could protect himself. "What is this stuff?" he coughed.

"Natsu?!" The momentary distraction allowed Juvia's enemy to get the better of her.

"Keep your eye on the prize, girl!" his arm somehow extended and his massive fist collided with Juvia, knocking her off of the carriage and into the mist along with Natsu.

"Juvia!" Natsu called through his coughs. "Are you alright?"

The rain woman struggled to her feet. "Yes. I just…" she then fell to one knee. "My body…what's happening? I can't…turn to water…" Juvia's eyelids slowly fell and soon she had fallen unconscious onto the ground.

"Juvia?!" Natsu reached to her, but fell onto his stomach as well. "What is this stuff?"

"Anti-magic particles." A voice answered.

Mustering what little strength he had left and looked up. Standing over him was a tall man with slicked back black hair and wearing what appeared to be a lab coat. He also wore some sort of mask over his face. Natsu surmised it was blocking the mist from entering his body. "Who…?"

"Well to be more accurate they're pseudo- anti magic particles." He explained to the groggy dragon slayer. "They aren't nearly as potent as the real thing, but still effective enough to keep your magic from being a problem for awhile. Good thing I brought them."

"What took you so long, Doc?" the big man asked. He too was wearing a mask, but his only covered his mouth and nose as opposed to the "Doc" whose mask covered his entire head. "I was starting to think I was going to have handle this on my own."

"Heaven forbid." Doc said with an amused smirk.

"Laugh it up, jerk." The large man bent down and picked up the unconscious Juvia, slinging her over his shoulder. "Up you go."

"Let her…go…" Natsu weakly demanded.

"Oh there's no need to worry about her." Doc said to Natsu. "You're coming as with us well."

Natsu's vision began to blur and his other senses began to fade. He looked to his guildmate one last time. "Juvi…a…" the world then went black.

* * *

The sound of slow dripping water roused Natsu to consciousness. Inhaling sharply – filling his nose with a most foul stench - he slowly opened his eyes. "What's going on? Where am I?" As he became more aware of his surroundings Natsu took notice of the wooden door with an iron bar window not too far from his face. He sat up, looking down at the wooden stocks on his wrists, as well as the metal shackles around his ankles. No doubt about it, he was in a prison cell. "Great." He sighed. "Those jerks caught us." Grumbling at his own weakness, Natsu suddenly remembered his partner. "Juvia!" he shouted. "Where is she?" a low moan of pain was the answer to his frantic question. He turned his head and upon seeing the rain woman lying on the ground not far behind him, he sighed in relief. "Hey, Juvia." He called.

She sat up and turned to him, her eyes half-lidded due to exhaustion. "Natsu? What's happened?" She looked around the cell. "Where are we?"

"Looks like a prison cell." Natsu answered. "Those bandits must have brought us here after that gas knocked us out."

Juvia looked at her wrist stocks, and her ankle shackles. "What is this?" She tried to get out of her restraints, but it was no use. "I can't turn to water." She said.

"Yeah, I can't burn my way out either." Natsu stood up and walked to the door. The hallway was empty. "That gas we breathed is blocking our magic, at least that's what that Doc guy said."

"Doc?"

"This jerk in a white coat. He's one of the bandits. He's also the one that used the gas on us. I don't really know if that's his name, I'm just repeating what that big guy called him." Natsu slammed his bound hands against the door in anger, startling Juvia. "That carriage driver sold us out! When we get out of here and beat these jerks, I'm going after him next."

"How do you plan on getting us out?"

"I don't know."

"Of course you don't." Juvia sulked. _Oh my beloved Gray. If you were here surely you would have found us a way out._

"Someone's coming." Natsu said. He peered out of the barred window again and saw a portly man walking down the hall. Natsu spotted the keyring on his waist. He deuced that he was the guard for the cells. "Hey! Let us out of here!"

The guard heard Natsu and approached the door, a superior smirk on his lips. "You're finally awake, huh?"

"Who are you people? Why did you kidnap us?" Juvia asked.

"We're just a group of merchants from Bosco." The guard answered with a sneer.

"Bosco?" Natsu had heard that name somewhere before but he couldn't quite place it. Thinking as hard as he could he remembered the first day he met Lucy in Hargeon. When he focused on Bora and his men, his eyes widened in realization. "You guys are slave traders!"

"Slave traders?" Juvia gasped.

"Whoa, words hurt." The guard said facetiously. "I told you we prefer the term merchants."

"You bastard." Natsu snarled. "How many people have you sold?"

"Telling you would be bad business. Now be a good boy and keep quiet." He opened the door quickly, slamming it in Natsu's face and sending him crashing hard to the ground.

"Natsu!" Juvia moved to his side. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah." He groaned, sitting back up. "I'm fine."

The guard locked the door back and laughed again at the dragon slayer's frustration.

"Why are you doing this?" Juvia questioned the guard.

"Because we all have to make a living don't we?" The robust man answered with a cocky smirk. "See you around." He laughed again as he walked away from the cell.

"Wait!" Natsu shouted. He ran back to the door and looked out of the window at the guard. "Get back here! Hey!" the guard ignored him and disappeared down the hall. "Dammit." Natsu sat back on the ground.

"How are we going to get out of here if we can't use our magic?"

Natsu looked at the stone walls of their cell. "I don't know, but I'll think of something."

Juvia - not at all convinced by Natsu's answer - once again thought of Gray. Hoping that he would find a way to come and save them.

* * *

**The next piece is put into place and I decided to do things a little bit different this time around. Like I said on Cana's chapters, she was the hardest for me to write character-wise. Juvia on the other hand is going to be the hardest for me to write relationship-wise. If you couldn't tell she is still very into Gray at this point and it is going to take some maneuvering to get her to see Natsu in a similar manner. As such, her story is going to be three chapters. This doesn't mean she's more important than the previous three girls, she just needs more time.**

**I decided to add a little action and suspense to her story as well since I feel it not only fits for how I want her character to shift, but also because the story was sorely lacking in that department up to this point. Yes Natsu and Mirajane fought one another, and Natsu and Cana chased the thief in Crocus but those scenes weren't really all that suspenseful. Exciting and fun (depending on how you chose to view it) but nothing really too unexpected. So I am going to try and add some of that to Juvia's story. I think it all comes together nicely, but you guys will be the final judges of that.**

**As always leave a comment/review with your thoughts, and thanks for reading! :) **


	10. Drowning in Love II

"What do you mean they have yet to arrive?!" Erza exclaimed. She - along with the rest of the guild - had just been told by Master Makarov that Natsu and Juvia still had not made it to their destination. It was the now middle of the day after they departed, and what started as a queer occurrence of a lack of accountability quickly turned into near panic about what happened to the pair.

"Calm down, Erza." Mirajane said. She was worried for the two as well – especially Natsu – but she was trying not to let her fear get the best of her.

"She's not exactly wrong to be upset, Mira." Cana reasoned. "They should have arrived at the village long before now."

"I know, but nothing will come of us getting angry."

Makarov nodded. "We're all worried but cooler heads must prevail."

"You're right. Forgive me, Master." Erza exhaled deeply, managing to calm herself for the time being. "We need to begin looking for them."

"I agree with Erza." Gray voiced. "We can't just leave them out there. They could be in serious trouble."

"But we have no idea where to start looking." Lucy reminded. "They could be anywhere."

"We still have to try." Wendy spoke up.

"Gajeel, can you search for them with your nose?" Erza requested.

"I could try but it wouldn't be much help. It's been a full day, their scent is probably long gone by now."

Cana pulled out a deck of cards. "I'll try and see if I can divine where they went."

"Will that really work?" Lisanna asked warily.

"It's worth a shot." Gray said.

"I agree. Go ahead, Cana." Erza accepted.

The brunette nodded and sat on the bar top with her cards in front of her. Before she drew the first card, the door to the guild hall burst open. In walked a haggard man with a horse drawn carriage – that had seen much better days if the near destroyed carriage was any indication - not far behind him. He placed his hands on his knees, huffing and puffing in exhaustion as the Fairy Tail wizards all looked at him with appropriate surprise.

"Who is that guy?"

"He doesn't look so good."

"What happened to his carriage?"

"Just how far did he ride in that thing?"

The driver finally looked up from his knees to the assembled wizards. "Is this…the Fairy Tail guild?"

Makarov approached the weary man. "Yes it is."

The driver sighed in relief. "Finally. I've been riding all night."

"What business do you have with us? Are you here to request a job?"

"I've done something terrible." The driver said. "I had to come and tell you."

"Church is down the road." Cana said quickly, pointing towards the door.

"Cana." Mirajane hissed.

"We don't have time to take confessions." She drew a card. "We have friends to find." She looked at the card, it was the Fool Arcana.

"That's what I came here for." The driver explained. "The woman with blue hair and the man with pink hair are your friends, right?"

Everyone's eyes widened at the man's words.

"They were captured by bandits on the outskirts of Hargeon." He finished.

"Captured?" Wendy gasped.

"What bandits are strong enough to take those two?" Lucy asked.

"They must have been ambushed." Gray reasoned. "Wouldn't be hard to take Natsu down when he has motion sickness."

"Yeah but Juvia wouldn't go down as easily." Lucy pointed out. "Even if she doesn't like Natsu she would have protected him until he recovered."

"They weren't ambushed." Cana stated, her eyes narrowed at the driver. "Were they?"

"What are you saying, Cana?" Levy asked.

The driver pulled the cap from his head and began fidgeting nervously. He looked down at the ground, his overwhelming guilt not allowing him to make eye contact with the wizards. "She means that they…I…"

Erza had heard enough. She came to the same conclusion as Cana. She summoned a sword and made a beeline for the frightened driver, pointing her blade at the man's face and causing him to frightfully fall onto his behind.

"Erza!" Mirajane shouted. "What are you doing?!"

"You led them there didn't you?!" The knight accused the driver. "You're working with whoever abducted Natsu and Juvia!"

"That's ridiculous, Erza." Lucy objected. "Aren't you jumping to conclusions?"

"She's right." The driver admitted, alarming the wizards. "I'm the reason they were captured."

"I knew it!" Cana angrily shouted.

"Why would you do something like that?" Mirajane asked in shock – which was slowly giving way to anger.

Erza inched her blade closer to the man's neck. "You are going to tell us everything."

The driver solemnly nodded. He didn't even need to know what would happen to him if he lied or left out any details. He knew full well that whatever "threat" Erza needed to lobby was told clearly through her piercing brown eyes.

* * *

"Do you think the others know where we are?" Juvia asked. It was more of a plea than anything. She and Natsu hadn't talk to one another for hours and the silence she had endured since they last spoke was beginning to grate at her sanity.

Natsu was much more active, searching for cracks or passages of air in the stone walls of the cell. He was having no luck thus far. "I don't know. Probably not." He answered his cellmate.

They heard footsteps approaching down the hall. The guard had returned. He reached the the door, and two trays slid under the small opening at the bottom.

"Lunch time." He said.

The Fairy Tail wizards looked at the trays with unamused eyes. The bread looked stale, and the meager meat and potatoes looked picked over at best. It was the very definition of scraps.

The guard saw their grimaces and smirked in amusement. "What's wrong? Don't like what the cook made for ya?"

Natsu noticed that the guard was eating as he spoke to them. It smelled much more appetizing than the "food" he gave the Fairy Tail wizards. In fact it smelled familiar. He sniffed the air and instantly recognized the smell. He rushed to the door, grabbed the bars – the slam of his body against of the wood of the door startling Juvia - and looked through. Upon seeing an open food box in the guard's hand, Natsu gritted his teeth in anger. "Hey, you bastard!" He shouted. "That's my food!"

"Oh is it?" The guard asked, faking ignorance. "I just found it in some bag we took from a couple prisoners. It was yours? Sorry about that." He smirked, took out one of the fried eggs from the box, and ate it in front of Natsu slowly; making sure to squeeze all the anger he could out of the dragon slayer's glare.

"Stop eating it!" Natsu demanded. He tried to reach through the bars, but the stocks made that action impossible. "Mira made me that!"

The guard finished the last of the meal and burped loudly. "Well then I'll have to find this 'Mira' chick and thank her for the food. Maybe she'll make me another one." He dropped the box on the ground, stepping on it as he walked down the hall, laughing haughtily all the way.

"Come back dammit!" Natsu slammed his shoulder into the door multiple times, but it refused to budge. He finally stopped, glaring at the guards back until he was gone again. "That guy really pisses me off."

"Should we eat this?" Juvia hesitantly asked, looking at the food. It wasn't appealing to look at in the slightest, but her rumbling stomach was making no qualms at this point.

Natsu looked at the tray for a moment. "Not hungry. You have it. That should be one full meal for you if you add mine. I'll eat later. I have to find us a way out of here."

"There may not be a later." Juvia reminded almost fearfully as she watched him return to searching the cell walls. "Who knows how long we have left? Without our magic we-"

"We're going to get out." Natsu interjected.

"But how do you know?" Juvia implored.

"I just do. We'll be fine."

Juvia was fed up with Natsu's nonchalant behavior. "That's not good enough, Natsu!" she shouted. "We've been captured, our magic is gone, and worse we are going to be sold into slavery! We need more than just 'we'll be fine'! I need-"

"Do you trust me?" Natsu suddenly asked.

Juvia was caught unaware by the question. "What are you-"

Natsu kneeled before her, his eyes staring directly into hers. "No matter what happens you and I are going to be fine. We're going to get out of here, find a way to get our magic back, and then go do our job. Even if they catch us again, I promise that nothing will happen to you."

Juvia couldn't explain it. Maybe it was the sincerity in his eyes, or the firm tone in his voice. It could have even been the fact that she could feel the warmth of his hand as it hovered just above hers. Whatever it was, Juvia knew one thing, Natsu meant every word that he said.

"Do you trust me?" he asked again, this time with more emphasis.

Juvia nodded slowly in response, receiving a smile from the dragon slayer.

"Great." He said. He stood back up and looked along the floor, upon seeing a bottle of water that the guard had left behind, the dragon slayer smiled again. "I've got an idea. How good is your acting, Juvia?"

Juvia cocked her head to the side in confusion. "Pardon?"

* * *

"Are we ready to go?! We don't have time to waste!" Erza yelled. After hearing the full story from the carriage driver, Erza – after fighting every urge in her body to strike the man down - made a team consisting of herself, Gray, Lucy, Wendy, Carla, Wendy, Happy, and surprisingly Cana to free their friends from captivity. Those she assembled were currently gathering the last of their belongings for the rescue as Erza stood atop the stairs leading to the guild exit, the driver of the carriage tentatively stood next to her.

Her arms crossed, Erza tightened her grip on her biceps. _I should have went with them! How could I be so careless?! Now Natsu and Juvia are out there in the clutches of slave traders!_

Once the team was ready they stood before Erza, who nodded in approval at their preparations. "Let's hurry." She walked past the driver and out of the guild, the others following suit.

"Wait!" a voice called. Everyone looked back and saw Mirajane standing in the front of the bar. "I'm going too."

"But, Mira-"Lucy began.

"I'm going." She asserted.

"Fine then, come on." Erza waved towards them. She had no desire to debate about this point. "We're losing time as is, and having you with us won't hurt."

"Thank you." Mirajane walked to the carriage, and heard the driver exhaling a sigh of relief. She abruptly stopped next to him. Apparently he thought things would go smoother for him since Mirajane was the only person who didn't hate his guts at the moment. The barmaid quickly nipped that notion in the bud. "I'm not coming along to protect you." She coldly whispered. "I understand that you did what was best for your family, but if you lead us into another trap, or anything happens to my friends - especially the boy with the pink hair - I will not be held accountable for what happens to you. The same applies to the redhead nor the brunette."

The driver's gulp echoed throughout the guild hall. When he turned to face Mirajane, his face went pale. She was smiling. It was as if she was reveling at the sound of the threat she had just lobbied to him. When he looked to Erza and Cana, he was equally frightened at their hardened glares. He officially concluded that Mirajane, Cana, and Erza were much scarier than any of the men he had been previously working for.

* * *

Juvia carefully watched the hall from inside the cell. She wasn't fully sure if the plan they discussed was going to work, but she put her trust in Natsy – if only this one time. When she spotted the guard walking down the corridor, she turned to Natsu – who stood in the shadows next to the door – and nodded.

Natsu returned her nod. "Operation: 'Break out of the bad guys hideout' is a go." He whispered.

_That name is entirely too on the nose._ Juvia sweatdropped. Nonetheless she began to enact said plan and looked out to the guard. "Hello?!" she beckoned. "Excuse me! Mr. Guard?!"

The portly man walked over to her. "What do you want?"

"I have to use the restroom."

"There's a perfectly good bucket in the corner over there. That's what it's for." The guard pointed.

Juvia looked to the bucket – which was unfit for even a pig's use - then back to the guard. This time she flashed pleading eyes. "It's too embarrassing to go in here. My guildmate is a huge pervert. I'm scared to go with him watching me."

Natsu knew Juvia was acting her part, but he still felt the sting of her insult. Somewhere in her words there was a kernel she thought was truth.

The rain woman flitted her eyelids alluringly – which actually made Natsu blush a bit – and inched closer to the door. "Please? I really have to go and I would much prefer if a big strong man like you were there to protect me." While seductive in her role, Juvia was frantic on the inside. _Please forgive me, Gray! I would never do something like this if the situation weren't so desperate!_

The guard licked his chapped lips, his lust filled stare sending a chill down Juvia's spine. She didn't need telepathy to know what the piggish man was thinking. "Fine." He said, trying to hide his excitement. "I'll take you to the bathroom upstairs, but don't take too long."

"I'll be very quick." Juvia smiled. "Thank you so much."

"Back away from the door."

Juvia did as she was told while the guard unlocked the cell door. As soon as he stepped through the open archway, Natsu emerged from the shadows and clubbed the jailer as hard as he could with his stocks, effectively knocking out the guard as well as shattering his own restraints. Juvia's went wide with shock. She was surprised the plan actually worked.

Natsu rubbed his sore wrists and looked down at the unconscious guard. "That's for eating the lunch Mira made me, you bastard."

"Natsu, please focus." Juvia said.

"Oh yeah. Sorry." He grabbed the keys from the downed jailer and fumbled around until he found the right one. He unlocked his ankle shackles, then freed Juvia from her restraints. "Are you good to move?"

Juvia rubbed her wrists. "Yes."

"Alright. Let's go."

Natsu and Juvia ran out of their cell and down the hall.

"Please! Help us!" called a voice not far behind them.

Natsu and Juvia backtracked a few steps and looked into a closed cell door, seeing people – two women to be specific - impriosoned just like they were. "We've been here for days. Please free us!" one pleaded.

Natsu and Juvia heard similar echoes from cells further down the hall. There were many more people captured than they thought.

"Hold on." Natsu searched for the key to the door. "We'll get you all out."

"Hey!" another voice shouted. This one belonged to one of the slave traders, and unfortunately he wasn't alone. "How did you get out of your cell?!" He ran towards Natsu and Juvia.

"Let me take care of this guy." Natsu stood in front of Juvia and puffed out his cheeks.

**_FIRE DRAGON ROAR_**

Nothing came out.

"Damn! I still can't use my magic!"

The bandit grabbed the staff that was on his back and began firing bolts of energy at the pair. His fellow criminals fired magic from their weapons as well.

"Natsu, we have to go!" Juvia hurriedly advised.

"Not until we've saved these people!" Natsu argued. A bolt of lightning almost struck his head, but he managed to duck just in time.

"We won't be of help to anyone if we get recaptured!" Juvia countered. "We will come back for them!"

Natsu clicked his teeth. He knew Juvia was right, but he still didn't like running from a fight, especially when lives were at stake. He looked to the people in cell. "We'll be back! I promise!" he reluctantly told the women.

"Natsu, come on!" Juvia called.

"Sound the alarm!" the lead bandit ordered. "We can't let them escape!"

Another one of the bandits removed a false brick in the wall to reveal a button. When he pressed it a loud alarm blared throughout the hideout. Nearly deafening the Fairy Tail wizards.

They turned down a corridor, spotting a flight of stairs. "Up there!" Natsu pointed. He and Juvia quickly ascended the stairs and burst through the door, entering what looked to be a huge dining hall. Surrounded by the slave traders on all sides, the pair spotted the two men that abducted them the previous night.

"Look, Broote, they escaped." Doc said to the large man.

"How they hell did they do that?! Get them!"

The other criminals jumped into action but Natsu managed to evade the first barrage. He grabbed Juvia's wrist and made a break for the door at the end of the room. "Come on!"

Natsu and Juvia forced their way through waves of enemies, eventually making it to the door. When they emerged on the other side, they were greeted by a furious snow storm. "What the hell?!" Natsu shouted, covering his eyes from the violent weather.

"Where did this snow from?!" Juvia shouted.

They turned to face the group of bandits behind them. They were being led by Broote. "The blizzards here are way harsher that Mt. Hakobe's. Making it the perfect place to hide." He explained. "No one comes out this far because of the storms."

"Damn." Natsu looked to Juvia, she was shaking again, and not just because of the cold. "Come on!" he took off to the left, Juvia right behind him.

"Don't let them get away!" Broote ordered. "Follow them!" his squad fired their projectile magics at Natsu and Juvia, making it harder for them to navigate through the pounding snow.

"Natsu!" Juvia called through the storm, she could barely see him.

"Stay close!"

A stray blast hit the rocks next to Juvia's foot, causing her to slip off of the edge of the cliff.

"Juvia!" Natsu reached and grabbed her hand.

"Don't drop me!" she pleaded, grabbing his hand with both of hers.

"Just hang on! Don't look down!"

As expected the rain woman did the opposite, she couldn't even see the bottom of the mountain. She fainted from fear.

Natsu felt Juvia's body go limp. "I said don't look!" he pulled her up, slung her over his shoulder and resumed running; his feet aching from the cold of the snow. He really missed his dragon slayer magic. Spotting a cavern on the side of the cliff face Natsu ducked inside and placed the sleeping Juvia on the ground. He watched as their pursuers passed in front of the cavern, hoping that they wouldn't notice his hiding spot. Relief washed over him when heard Broote give his men the order to return to the hideout, choosing to continue the search when the blizzard let up.

"Looks like we got ourselves a break." Natsu looked to Juvia. She was out cold – quite literally in fact – her body was almost freezing to the touch. _She must get cold really quick because she's made of water._ Natsu deduced. "Looks like I have to heat her up the old-fashioned way." Natsu looked around the somewhat spacious cavern for something to light aflame. Finding a few leaves and some sticks, Natsu made a mini pit in the middle of the cavern. Next he found two palm sized rocks, striking one against the other until he saw sparks. "That should work." He directed his striking over the pit, and after a few tries Natsu created fire – albeit a small one. He wiped his brow clean of sweat.

"How do people do this all the time? I can't wait till my magic starts working again." He looked to the fire as it crackled and his stomach grumbled. He wanted to eat it. "You're lucky I need you right now." He said to the blaze. He placed his hand on his stomach and sighed. "I should eaten that food they gave us." He looked to Juvia, she began shaking due to the cold, her body curled into a ball. "This fire is too small to warm her up." Natsu realized.

Seeing no other option Natsu grabbed Juvia, and held her shivering frame against his body. Even though his magic was gone for the moment, his body was still warm enough to help thaw Juvia. Slowly but surely, her shaking stopped and a small smile appeared on her lips. _What's with that face?_ Natsu questioned.

In her sleep Juvia reached up to Natsu's cheek – he almost jumped at how cold she was, but at the same time his cheeks heated up – and slowly trailed her hand down his chest. The dragon slayer could feel his body heat up more, which in turn was good for the rain woman. She nuzzled closer to him. "Gray…" she mewled, smiling even wider.

Natsu's mouth formed a tight line as he looked at the slumbering rain woman. "Great." He sighed.

* * *

Erza's group raced through the countryside as fast as they could. Fearing they wouldn't make it in time, Erza rented a magic mobile before leaving Magnolia. They currently were passing Onibus station, nearly beating the train. Judging by how fast they were going, Erza was pushing her magic to its limits.

"Erza, do you need one of us to take over?" Mirajane asked. She was worried the stubborn redhead would pass out before they even made it to Hargeon.

"No." Erza quickly declined. "I'm fine."

Cana – sitting behind Gray, who created a motorcycle with his ice to ride alongside the magic mobile - gave Erza an empathic look, she knew why the redhead was pushing herself so hard. "This isn't your fault, Erza."

"Cana's right." Lucy agreed. "There was no way you could have known this was going to happen."

"I should have been more vigilant." Erza argued. "If I had gone with them this wouldn't have happened."

"You don't know that." Gray countered. "You could have easily gotten captured too. Stop beating yourself up. No one blames you."

"We'll find them." Wendy reassured with a smile.

"Aye!" Happy chirped.

"It's my fault." The carriage driver said. He was currently seated next to the right window.

"Yes it is." Carla nodded. "But you have a chance to right this mistake by helping us reclaim our friends."

The driver nodded in acceptance. "You're right."

Erza tightened her grip on the drive shaft, which in turn increased the amount of energy the SE Plug on the vehicle drained from her body. The vehicle sped up more, eventually overtaking the train altogether. _Hold on, Juvia, Natsu. We're coming._

* * *

Juvia smiled brightly as Gray lovingly held her in his arms in the center of the South Gate Park. "Gray, stop." She giggled playfully, trying to move her face away from his. "Everyone can see us."

"I don't care." Gray said, pulling her closer. "I want everyone to see how much I care about you."

"Oh, Gray." She swooned. "You're so warm."

Gray opened his mouth to speak, but instead of words Juvia heard what she could only classify as "beastly roars".

"Gray? Are you alright?" she asked, frightened by the sound.

Gray opened his mouth and the sound came out again, this time much louder. As the horrible noise persisted, Juvia was awakened from her sleep. "Gray…?" she muttered.

She looked up, confused to see a snoring Natsu in her beloved's place. "Natsu? Where did he come from? Where is Gray?" She felt something wrapped around her body and looked down. It didn't take her long to put two and two together. Her face went red and she shrieked in embarrassment, abruptly waking Natsu from his slumber.

"What?! What's going on?!" he snorted in alarm, a trail of drool still hanging from the corner of his mouth. "Did they find us?!"

"Let me go!" Juvia screamed. She wiggled and squirmed until she was able to free herself from Natsu's arms. She frantically scooted all the way to the cave wall opposite of Natsu, her heart almost beating out of her chest. "What do you think you were doing?" she interrogated, her eyes narrowed in anger.

"What are you talking about?" Natsu questioned. "You mean earlier? I was trying to warm you up. You were cold and-"

"Don't lie." Juvia interrupted. "You were trying to take advantage of me and seduce me so I would leave Gray for you." She accused. "Well that's never going to happen. My heart only belongs to Gray."

Natsu rolled his eyes. "Good for him."

"You just stay on your side and I'll stay on mine, got it?" Juvia declared.

"Fine by me." Natsu muttered under his breath.

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

Juvia didn't believe him, but chose not to pursue the issue any longer. She pulled her knees to her chest and looked out at the cave entrance. The snow was pounding down harder than before. She wondered if they were ever going to leave the cave. _We've traded one prison for another._ She thought warily. She heard a shuffling and turned her head to see that Natsu was now standing next to her. Once more he was holding his scarf out for her. "What are you doing? We agreed that you stay on your side."

"You were shivering again." Natsu said. He pushed his scarf closer.

Juvia looked to Natsu's face. He was looking away from her, but she could have sworn his cheeks were red. "Won't you be cold without this?"

"Even without my magic my natural body temperature is pretty high. I should be fine for a little bit longer."

Juvia could tell by the minimal shivering of Natsu's hand that he was lying. Nonetheless she accepted his offer. "Thank you." She said, grabbing the scarf from him.

"Yeah. Don't mention it." Natsu walked back to his side of the cavern and sat against the wall as Juvia wrapped the muffler around her neck.

_It really **is** warm._ She thought in surprise, a light blush dusting her pale cheeks. She inhaled unconsciously, catching a whiff of something crisp from the scarf. If she had to identify this smell, it would be similar to singed cinnamon. _It smells like him as well. _She inhaled again, this time of her own volition._ It's…nice._ Juvia quickly realized what she was doing and shook her head vigorously. _No! I can't allow myself to succumb to this. I must stay pure for my beloved Gray!_

"I'm sorry." Natsu apologized, catching Juvia's attention. "I shouldn't have tried to warm you up without asking first. Lucy says I have a problem with personal space."

Juvia saw the guilt in his eyes and sighed. "No, it's my fault. You were only trying to help and I overreacted."

"So we're both sorry then." Natsu laughed lightly.

"Yes. I guess we are." Juvia smiled softly.

A few more minutes of silence passed before the pair spoke again. Natsu started the conversation again, this time asking a personal question that had been bugging him for a while. "So...why are you so obsessed with Gray?"

Juvia's irritation spiked again. "I am not 'obsessed' with him." She quickly corrected. "I love him."

"Sorry. Sorry." Natsu apologized and rephrased his query. "Why do you 'love' him so much?"

"Because…" Juvia began. "He showed me the sky." she smiled.

Natsu raised an eyebrow. "The sky?"

"When I was younger, I couldn't control my magic very well." Juvia thought back to those painful memories of her childhood. "It rained wherever I went, and as a result people always avoided me. Children would make fun of and exclude me. Adults would comment on how gloomy the weather was around me, I even lost a relationship because of it."

"You were in a relationship?"

Juvia nodded. "I used to date Bora the Prominence. A former wizard of the Titan's Nose guild."

Natsu's eyes widened in disbelief. "You dated that jerk?!"

"Yes I did." Juvia irritably confirmed. "May I continue my story?"

Natsu calmed down. "Sorry. Go ahead."

"Thank you." Juvia cleared her throat and continued. "Where was I? Yes now I remember. After Bora broke up with me, I was aimless for quite a while. That was the first time my rain had driven away someone I cared about. Well that's not entirely true. It wasn't like I was in love with him, he was kind of a jerk."

"Yeah." Natsu nodded, thinking back to his own encounter with the womanizing con man. "I know what you mean."

"Despite that, he was the first person that actually wanted to be around me after knowing about my circumstances. After he left I was distraught, well to be more accurate I was depressed. I didn't know what to do with myself. That was when Master Jose found me."

"And you joined Phantom Lord?" Natsu implied.

Juvia nodded. "Being a part of Phantom Lord was the first time I felt like I was actually accepted somewhere. Deep down, I knew that Master Jose was just using me for my power, but I didn't care. I finally had somewhere that I belonged. Even if that place was a hollow one."

It honestly surprised Natsu that Juvia was sharing so much about her past with him despite her dislike of him. Maybe it was because of the dire situation they were in. Whatever the reason Natsu continued to listen to her as if she was the most important person in the world, because currently...she was.

"I thought I would stay in Phantom Lord forever. That is, until the battle with Fairy Tail."

"Is that when you met Gray? During the fight between our guilds?"

Juvia nodded again. "Yes. He and I battled one another atop of the transforming guild hall." Juvia's eyes began to sparkle when she thought back on that fateful battle. "It was romantic. He bested me with his superior strength and will, only to save me when I almost fell to my death. He even comforted me. It was the very definition of love."

"I guess that's romantic." Natsu said.

"Without Gray who knows where I would be right now?" Juvia staunchly defended. "He opened up a whole new world to me. Without him I would have never joined Fairy Tail, or seen the blue skies. I wouldn't expect you to understand."

"You're right." Natsu said with a wry smile. "I've never really had a feeling like that with anyone before. So I guess I wouldn't understand."

Juvia's ears perked at the slightly sullen tone of Natsu's voice. Feeling bad, she changed the subject. "What about you?" She asked. "What were like when you were young?"

"Me?" Natsu pointed at himself.

Juvia nodded.

Natsu shrugged. Since Juvia opened up to him, he thought it only right that he do the same. "I'm sure you've heard, but I was raised by a dragon named Igneel. He disappeared not long before I joined Fairy Tail."

"Gajeel and Wendy's dragons disappeared on the exact day as Igneel did correct?." Juvia inquired.

"Yeah. I can't speak for them – though I'm sure they were the same - but I didn't have anyone after Igneel left. I was alone for a long time before coming to Fairy Tail. I was kind of a lot to handle back then. I lashed out a lot, and got into all kinds of fights over stupid things. If it wasn't for the others who knows how I would have turned out? I might be like those bandit guys right now."

"They had that big of an impact on you?" Juvia asked with curious eyes.

"Yeah." Natsu smiled sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. "Erza taught me how to read and write what Igneel didn't, Lisanna helped me hatch and raise Happy, Mira helped train me to fight when Erza couldn't, and even Gray helped me out a bit by sparring with me. He used to kick my butt though."

Juvia's eyes widened in disbelief. She knew Gray was strong, but she didn't know that he used to beat Natsu. Looking at them now they seemed to be on equal footing.

"Every time we fought he beat me. He had better control over his magic than I did. Him, Mira, Erza, they all used to beat the crap out of me when we were kids. I guess that was part of my motivation to get stronger."

"Do you think you could beat them now?" Juvia was now genuinely curious about what Natsu thought about his rivals.

"Gray and I are about even now, so that could go either way; don't tell him I said that. I still have a long way to go before I can catch Mira and Erza though." He smiled, and surprisingly so did Juvia. "I know you hate me for it, but that's why I always fight with Gray. Not because I dislike him - some times – or because I'm jealous, but because that's how we connect with one another. We've been fighting since we were kids, and we'll probably fight until we're old and dead."

Juvia felt a pang in her heart after hearing Natsu's words. Thinking back to her own words from yesterday, she instantly regretted them. "What I said to you before, about you leaving Gray alone. It was completely rude and callous of me. I had no right to say those things. I'm sorry."

"Oh don't worry about it." Natsu waved off with a smile. "I didn't mind. I was just confused. I thought you hated me or something."

"No!" Juvia quickly denied, startling Natsu. "I don't hate you. I'm just…jealous."

"Jealous? Of me?"

"Not just you. I'm envious of Lucy, Erza, Wendy, Mirajane, and Cana as well. When Gray is with you all…" She tightened her hold on her legs. "He looks like he's having fun. Even when you argue he looks like he's enjoying himself. I just…I wish I could make him feel like that. I'm nothing but a nuisance to him." Juvia sulked, her mouth and nose hidden by Natsu's scarf.

"I don't think you're a nuisance." Natsu said. "I think you're a really nice person."

"You think I'm...nice?" Juvia asked in complete confusion. It was just yesterday that she made it no secret that she couldn't stand to be around Natsu, but he still called her nice. _How could he think that after what I said to him?_

"Yep." Natsu nodded. "You're funny too."

Juvia's confusion grew. "Funny?"

"Yeah. In a weird kind of way."

Juvia narrowed her eyes. "Weird?"

"Not in a bad way." Natsu quickly backtracked. "I mean when you follow Gray around and he gets all worked up. I think's it hilarious."

"How is that in any way funny?" Juvia asked in offense.

"I don't know. It just is." Natsu shrugged. "But I don't think Gray sees you as a nuisance." Natsu looked out at the blizzard and smiled softly. "You're a member of the Fairy Tail guild too, Juvia. What makes our guild so awesome is that we're all friends. You don't have to be jealous. No matter what happened in our pasts we come together and stand by each other. Some of us were abandoned; kicked out of our homes; taken away from our families; or even ran away from our old lives altogether. We can all relate to each other, and move forward. You're a part of that too. I get that Gray opened your eyes to the 'blue sky' and stuff, and that's great but..." He turned her and flashed his toothy grin. "Don't miss out on what's down here too, ok?"

Juvia's eyes widened. She was speechless. No one had ever spoken to her like this before. It was like he had seen right through to her essence and grabbed it for the briefest moment. It was something she never expected, especially from Natsu. Maybe that was the reason she blushed, even more so than she had before with Gray. "Natsu…" she had seen this smile on his face numerous times, but this was the first time she had truly **looked** at it. It was the first time that it was ever aimed specifically at her. In her chest the rain woman felt the brief rapidity of her heartbeat. It was only for a moment, but it seemed to last much longer. She never felt that phenomena before. She clutched her chest. _What is that?_

"Hey, the blizzard's let up!" Natsu exclaimed happily, pointing to the calmness outside of the cave. He stood up and stretched his arms overhead. "Let's get moving." When he noticed the odd look on Juvia's face he raised an eyebrow in confusion. "You ok? You need to warm up some more?"

Juvia shook the stars from her eyes and stood up to face him. "I'm fine. We should get going."

Natsu looked at the nervous blue-haired maiden quizzically for a few seconds before shrugging his shoulders and walking ahead. Juvia followed behind him at a safe distance. Being just far enough to not bump him should he make a sudden stop, but still close enough to reach out and touch him. If she wanted.

Natsu poked his head out of the cave. He looked right and saw nothing. When he looked to the left he saw a group of the bandits facing the other way. "We have to go now." He whispered to Juvia. She nodded in confirmation and they exited the cavern, quickly moving to the right. Unfortunately, the crunching of the packed snow beneath their feet alerted the bandits to their escape.

"There they are!" the leader of the group pointed. "After them!"

Natsu and Juvia quickened their pace and began running down the mountain, though the height of the snow made it difficult for them to move as fast as they wanted. Juvia's foot snagged on a root covered by the snow and she fell over. Natsu heard her body hit the snow and turned around. He then looked further behind and saw their pursuers closing the distance. "Come on, Juvia! You have to get up!" he shouted.

"I can't!" she said, desperately pulling on her shin and calf in an attempt to free herself from the stubborn root. "My foot is stuck!"

Natsu ran over to her, grabbed her leg, and began pulling.

Juvia felt the root scratching against her ankle. "Ow! Natsu, that hurts!"

"I know but just bear with it. We can't let them catch us again."

"Just leave without me!" Juvia said. "You can leave alert the others on your own."

"Not a chance!" Natsu protested, surprising Juvia. ""I promised that I wouldn't let anything happen to you, and I'm not going to break it! We're guildmates, so we're going back together!"

Juvia blushed a second time. "Natsu..." she looked back and saw one of the bandits incoming. "Natsu, look out!"

The dragon slayer looked up and was kicked in the face by one of the bandits. He rolled away from Juvia.

"Finally caught ya." The bandit – which happened to be the leader of the group - smirked. "Too bad we don't need you guys anymore. Bosses said your spoiled merchandise. Not worth the trouble."

"Damn you." Natsu tried to stand but was kicked again, this time in the ribs.

"Natsu!" Juvia tried to free herself from the root.

"Hold him." The man ordered. Two of his comrades grabbed the weakened Natsu's arms and stood him up.

_Dammit._ He cursed. _I can't fight back…my body's too cold._

"We'll take out your girlfriend first." The lead bandit smirked evilly as he turned to Juvia. "I always hate it when women cry after seeing a loved one die."

"Stay away from her." Natsu growled. His command was answered with a strike to the abdomen by one of the men holding him.

"Leave him alone!" Juvia yelled.

The bandit grabbed the sword at his side. "Don't you worry, girl. You won't have to see us beating him up for much longer." He raised the sword overhead, poised to strike down the water wizard.

"Juvia!" Natsu shouted.

Juvia closed her eyes in anticipation of the end. Though curiously, the last things she heard were Natsu's words. "_I think you're a really nice person. Don't miss out on what's down here too, ok?" _She then saw Natsu's smile. _I'm sorry…Natsu._ The sword swiftly came down, cutting through her. But not the way her attacker imagined.

"What the hell!" the bandit shouted in shock. When he looked at his sword, he clearly saw it pass through Juvia, but there was no blood. In fact the young woman's body was…rippling.

Juvia opened her eyes and looked down at the sword. She gasped. "My body…it turned to water!"

Natsu felt his own body heating up from the inside out and smirked. "Guess that means our magic is back on." He lit his fists aflame and forced the men holding him away. He then knocked both of them off of the mountain with hard punches. He turned his attention to the rest of the group. "Next."

"St-stay away!" the lead bandit screamed as he backed away in fear. "I still have your girlfriend hostage!"

Juvia – finally able to free herself from the root by turning to water – stood behind the group of criminals. Her body steaming and her gaze as cold as the snow that covered the mountains. "I am not his girlfriend." She declared as she held out her hand.

**_WATER CANE_**

She swiped her arm across her body, creating a whip of scalding water to knock out all of the bandits. "That was for threatening my friend."

Natsu walked to Juvia, smiling at her handiwork as he grabbed her hands in his. For some reason this made her blush yet again. "That was awesome, Juvia!" Natsu praised. "How ya feelin?"

SHe looked away from him, her cheeks still red. "M-Much better now that our magic has returned. What about you? Those brutes hit you pretty hard."

"Nah." Natsu waved off, finally letting go of Juvia's hand. He was slightly embarrassed by the concern she was showing for him. "Erza hits way harder." He then realized something. "Wait…did you call me your friend?"

Juvia continued to look away from him. She hadn't expected him to hear that. In fact she didn't even mean to say it out loud. It just slipped out. "Y-you said that everyone in the guild was connected to one another right? Then I believe that makes us friends." She began to fidget, anxious that she had done something wrong. "Do you not…consider me a friend?"

Natsu placed his hand on her hat, causing her to look at him. He was wearing that smile again, and like last time she saw it Juvia's heart thumped just a tad bit faster.

"Of course we're friends." He confirmed. "Now let's go back and save those people."

"Ok." Juvia nodded. Natsu ran back to the bandit's hideout and Juvia followed, a small smile on her lips.

* * *

Back at their mountain hideout, the slave trading bandits were all lazing around. All waiting for the group they sent to find the Fairy Tail wizards to return.

"Do you think they found them?" Doc asked. He and Broote were playing cards with a few of their fellows.

"No doubt about it." Broote added the top card of the deck to his hand. "No one knows these mountains better than us. They should be coming back any minute."

"A shame we had to get rid of them." Doc shook his head in shame. "They would have fetched us a really high price. It's not every day you catch famous wizards in this area."

"Couldn't be helped. They weren't good to us anymore the moment they tried to escape. Besides we can always find more." He began laughing and soon heard a knocking at the door. "That must be the others. About ti-"

An explosion knocked the door off its hinges and sent it flying into the room, knocking out a few of the men inside.

"What the hell was that?!" Broote yelled through the commotion. He and Doc had ducked below the table.

"Something blew off the doors!" Doc answered. The pair – along with their remaining comrades – looked to the doorway and were shocked to see Natsu and Juvia standing there in near perfect health. It was like the past two days hadn't happened.

"Knock knock!" Natsu shouted.

"What happened to the guys we sent after you?!" Broote demanded.

"They're taking a little nap." Natsu grinned. "They should be up in a few hours." He cracked his knuckles. "Now, we'll be freeing all the people you guys have locked up here."

"That is not a request." Juvia added.

Broote smirked and stood up. "You two have a lotta guts to come back here and order us around. We tried to let you off easy, but now you'll see what happens when you screw with us. Doc!"

"Right." The lab coat wearing man nodded. He and the other bandits put on masks to cover their noses and mouths before Doc threw two bombs towards Natsu and Juvia.

The pair looked down at the balls before they expelled purple gas just like they had the night they were captured. Once it completely covered the area, Broote walked to the steps with a cocky smirk. "I can't believe you fell for the same trick twice." He mocked. "You guys aren't too smart-"

**_FIRE DRAGON IRON FIST_**

Natsu's flame covered fist collided with Broote's cheek, sending the massive man flying into the back wall with enough speed and force to both knock him out and dispel the gas. Curious enough, when the dust settled Broote was as thin as a rail and seemed to have shrunk considerably in height. All of his impressive muscles and size were gone.

"That's weird. Where did the big guy go?" Natsu asked.

Juvia was also fascinated by this occurrence. "Apparently his magic was able to change his size and shape. That must be what he really looks like."

"Hm." Natsu huffed with interest.

"Broote!" Doc shouted as he looked at his unconscious friend. "But that's impossible! They shouldn't be able to use magic!" When he looked back to the pair he noticed they had what appeared to be orbs of water over their heads.

"Oh yeah. Thanks for this, Juvia." Natsu said pointing to the sphere.

"You are welcome." Juvia nodded. "We should be fine as long as we don't breathe in any of that gas."

"Gotcha. Now let's get rid of these jerks. What do ya say?"

Juvia nodded again, this time with a confident grin. "Yes. Let's do it." All of the bandits began to shake in fear at the sight of their confidence.

"Alright! I'm all fired up!" The two jumped right into the middle of the bandits.

* * *

Erza and her group finally arrived outside of the bandit's hideout thanks to the help of the carriage driver. After leaving him with his family, the Fairy Tail wizards scaled the mountain and waited outside the door of the bandit's base.

"Why do bad guys always hide in cold places?" Lucy complained, her body shivering from the snow.

"You complain too much. It feels fine out here to me." Gray said.

"Please put on a shirt." Carla sighed.

"What's wrong, Erza?" Mirajane asked, seeing the apprehensive look on the knight's face.

"It's much too quiet." She said. "I expected more noise from a slave trader base."

"Well it's not like they were going to throw a party for a group of wizards coming to bust them." Cana reasoned.

"Do you think they know we're here?" Happy fretted.

"I'm not sure, but it wouldn't hurt to move with caution."

"You're right." Wendy nodded. "We should be careful."

"So what's the plan, captain?" Cana asked.

"On my count we'll rush the door. Hopefully the noise will distract them long enough for us to subdue them. Happy and Carla, when we enter, you two look for Natsu and Juvia. I would have to assume that they keep prisoners in some sort of prison on a lower level."

"Right." Carla nodded.

"Aye." Happy agreed.

"Get ready." Erza ordered. The Fairy Tail wizards all steadied themselves before rushing through the open archway. When they entered they were surprised to see all the bandits lying on the ground unconscious. Once more there were damp spots and puddles of water on the floor, broken furniture and fixtures, and scorched marks all around the dining hall. Some of the bandits were also either completely soaked from head to toe, or burnt.

"What happened in here?" Mirajane gasped.

"If I had to guess. Natsu and Juvia saved themselves." Gray hypothesized.

Carla and Happy flew out of a door not too far from where the group had entered and landed in front of their friends.

"Well?" Cana questioned. "Did you find them?"

Happy shook his head. "No. We didn't find anything."

"We found a flight of stairs behind that door and went down them. There were at least ten prison cells in there but they were all open and empty. If Natsu and Juvia were here, they aren't now."

"Looks like we're back to square one." Lucy said. "Where could they have gone?"

"Maybe they went back to the guild." Mirajane suggested.

"We would have seen them coming down the mountain if they had." Gray pointed out.

"But where else would they go?" Wendy asked.

"There's only one way to find out." Erza walked to a pile of rubble that appeared to be moving and saw a man in a lab coat struggling to get to his knees.

"Damn wizards." He grumbled. "When I find them I'll-" He felt something tug at his collar and drag him. "What's going on?! Let me go!"

Erza threw Doc towards her friends and they all surrounded him. "W-who are you people?! What do you want?!" he frantically demanded.

"A boy with pink hair and a girl with blue hair were here. Where did they go?" Erza interrogated. "And I will warn you now, if you lie to me, I cannot guarantee your safety."

Doc looked around at the Fairy Tail wizards. Each of their eyes relaying very specific threats if he didn't provide the information they wanted. He gulped audibly and nodded furiously. "Ok. Ok. I'll tell you."

* * *

"We finally made it." Natsu smiled.

"Yes." Juvia nodded.

After taking care of the bandits, Natsu and Juvia freed all of the captives and brought them along with them to Geranium. The mayor of the city was shocked at the sudden influx of people into his city, but was nonetheless relieved that they were safe. Not bad for a pair who hated being around each other not forty-eight hours prior.

"I'm glad we were able to rescue those people." Juvia beamed.

"Yeah." Natsu agreed. "The mayor is even gonna give us the full amount of the job reward if we help finish the hot spring. All because we saved those people." He smiled wide. "Talk about a bonus."

Juvia nodded in agreement. "He is quite the generous man. He said he would help those people return to their homes as well." There was brief silence between the two as they looked at the quaint village before them. The sun was setting, but that only made the rustic beauty of the plated roofs and stone structures stand out even more. This helped make the silence between the two wizards comfortable rather than awkward. "Natsu…" Juvia finally said, turning to him.

He faced her as well. "What's up?"

Juvia fidgeted again. "I just…"

"Yeah?" Natsu leaned in closer.

"I just want to say-"

"Natsu! Juvia!" called a familiar voice.

The two looked to the village's outer edge and saw their friends running to them with smiles on their faces. Both Natsu and Juvia were overwhelmed at the sight.

"You guys are ok!" Lucy leapt towards Juvia, hugging her around the neck.

"Love Ri-I mean Lucy!" Juvia gasped.

"You know I'm so happy to see you that I'm going to ignore that." Lucy smiled as she clutched Juvia tighter.

"Natsu!" Wendy leapt at him like Lucy did Juvia, but due to her height she hugged his midsection.

"Whoa, Wendy!" Natsu laughed, taking a few steps back. "Any harder and you would have knocked me flat on my butt."

"Sorry." She apologized as she backed away from him, a warm smile on her lips.

"Natsu~!" Happy cried. He flew to his friend and hugged his head.

"Hey, buddy." Natsu smiled. "Sorry I worried ya."

"You better be." The exceed sobbed.

When Natsu and Erza saw Mirajane approach he couldn't help but be surprised at the appearance of the latter. "You came too, Mira?"

"Of course I did. I wasn't going to leave you two out here on your own." The barmaid said.

"Are you ok?" Erza asked a bit panicked. She took off her gauntlet and placed the back of her hand on Natsu's forehead, causing him to blush – but also causing Mirajane to get jealous. "Does anything hurt?"

Natsu grabbed Erza's wrist and placed her hand at her side. "I'm fine, Erza. Really." He answered with a bit of embarrassment.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"You two really had us worried." Cana said.

"Good job on those guys back there." Gray smirked. "But you couldn't leave a few for us?"

"I would have if I knew you were coming." Natsu responded with a smirk of his own.

Juvia watched the two engage in their routine stare down, but oddly enough she glanced in Natsu's direction more than she did Gray's.

"Hey, Juvia…" Lucy began curiously. "Why are you wearing Natsu's scarf?"

The rain woman's eyes widened and every one – except Natsu - stopped what they were doing and looked to her. She looked down and sure enough, her neck was still wrapped by Natsu's scarf. She had it on for so long that she forget that it was even there. She looked around at her friends, trying to gauge their reactions. Natsu was completely oblivious, but that made sense since he willing let Juvia use his scarf in the first place; Erza and Mirajane appeared to be unaffected by the situation, but Juvia could tell that there was a dark, almost frightening presence resting just behind their eyes; Lucy and Wendy looked at her with confusion, each wondering what could have led to the rain woman wearing Natsu's most precious possession; Carla was uncaring; Cana and Happy each flashed Juvia mischievous smirks that made her feel even more awkward; and finally Gray - the object of her affection - seemed to not really care one way or the other.

Her face completely red, Juvia quickly unwrapped the scarf from her neck, gave it to Lucy, and ran to Gray. Latching on to his arm as tightly as she could. "I'm so sorry, Gray!" she apologized. "Please forgive me! I've been unfaithful!"

"What are you talking about?!" Gray shouted, trying to get the clingy woman off of him. "You're too close!"

"Please~! Forgive me, my love!"

Lucy walked to Natsu and handed him his scarf. "Guess things are back to normal."

"Guess so." Natsu nodded. He took back his scarf and wrapped it around his neck. He smelled a faint whiff of morning dew and berry that lingered on the fabric. Juvia's scent. He looked to Erza and Mirajane, who both turned their heads away from him. "What?"

"Nothing." They answered in unison and walked past him.

"What's wrong with them?" he asked, scratching his head.

"I have no idea." Lucy shook her head.

"Looks like someone's in the doghouse." Cana teased as she walked past Natsu, a grin on her face.

"What does that mean?" he asked. "What did I do?"

"Are we all ready to head back?" Erza asked. "If we leave now we should make it back to Magnolia around midnight."

"You guys go on ahead." Natsu said. "Juvia and I still have a job to do, right?" he looked to her, but the rain woman hid behind Gray, confusing the dragon slayer.

"Y-yes." Juvia answered tentatively, her head peeking from behind Gray's back. "Natsu and I still have to complete the job that was assigned to us."

"You can't be serious." Carla said.

"I'm sure the client will understand if you decline due to what happened to the two of you." Erza reassured. "There's no need to push yourself."

"We're not." Natsu argued. "We were assigned this job and we're gonna complete it."

"Natsu-"Erza began.

"Natsu is right." Juvia spoke up, surprising the others. She stepped from behind Gray - to the ice wizards relief. "Not completing this job would tarnish Fairy Tail's reputation."

"I expected Natsu to be this stubborn, but not Juvia." Mirajane giggled.

"Yeah, she must have rubbed off on him while they were locked up." Cana grinned.

Erza sighed in exhaustion. "Fine. We will stay so you both can complete this job. Then we're going home. Understood?"

"Yep." Natsu nodded with a smile.

"Thank you, Erza." Juvia bowed her head.

"You can help if you want, but don't ask for a cut of the reward." Natsu said to the redhead. "That's for me and Juvia."

Erza sighed again. "Do whatever you want."

"This looks like a nice place to visit." Mirajane concluded, looking at the village proper. "I never really get a chance to go out much like this because of my guild duties. Plus we can relax in a hot spring!" She began thinking of how she would spend time with Natsu when everything was finished.

"I always liked little places like this." Lucy smiled.

"It really is peaceful." Wendy nodded.

"Small towns usually have the best wine." Cana informed. "They use all natural ingredients here."

"Is drinking all you think about?" Gray sighed.

"About as much as you think about taking your clothes off."

Gray looked down and noticed that both his pants and shirt were gone. "When the hell did that happen?!"

"We should find a place to stay for the night." Erza suggested. "There should be a local inn here somewhere." Erza lead the group as they walked into town in search of lodgings for the night.

Natsu stayed a few steps behind the pack. Mirajane and Cana slowed their paces to let him catch up to them.

"What's wrong, Natsu?" Mirajane asked.

"It's nothing." Natsu waved off. "Just tired I guess."

"Well when we find an inn you can sleep with me." Cana offered with an alluring grin. "I promise you'll feel much better."

Natsu gulped and his face heated up. "N-no that's ok!"

"Are you sure?" Cana teased, walking closer to him.

Before Natsu could say anything Mirajane interjected. "Yes he's sure because he will be staying in my room." she declared.

"I'll what?!" Natsu shouted.

"I didn't know you were so bold, Mira." Cana sheepishly smiled. "Are you sure you can handle it? Natsu can be a lot to handle at night."

Mirajane blushed and grabbed onto Natsu's arm. "What does she mean by that? Did you two do something in Crocus?" she interrogated the dragon slayer.

"We didn't do anything!" Natsu shouted in fear. "I have no idea what she's talking about."

"Natsu!" Erza called from the front, having heard the conversation behind her.

"Y-yeah?!" Natsu piped up.

"You and I will be sharing a room tonight. Understand?"

Natsu saw no way out of the situation. "Alright." he reluctantly agreed.

"Now wait just a minute, Erza!" Mirajane stormed to the front of the pack to confront the redhead, with Cana following her for pure entertainment value.

"Sucks to be, Natsu." Gray whispered to Lucy, who nodded in agreement as they watched the three women.

"I hope he'll be ok." Wendy fretted.

"Even I'm worried about his well-being." Carla admitted.

"They li~ke him." Happy teased.

As Erza and Mirajane continued their verbal jousting – with Cana adding bits of verbal commentary to stoke the fires – Natsu sighed in exhaustion. He then briefly locked eyes with Juvia, who was walking beside Gray. When she noticed Natsu caught her staring, Juvia blushed and quickly returned to facing front.

Natsu raised an eyebrow in confusion. _What was that about?_ Suddenly a pale blue light appeared over the rain woman's head, a revealing another card. Natsu's eyes went wide with shock. _You've gotta be kidding me._

* * *

Part 2 of Juvia's story, a bit on the long side. I apologize for that. I will do my best to make the next chapter shorter. Also threw a few of my headcanons in there(for example I imagined Mira used to help train Natsu a bit when they were younger because she though it would be funny if he beat up Erza one day). Hopefully this went over well.

I also wanted to address a couple of reviews I have gotten recently. *puts on bad guy hat and clears throat* Juvia is in the Harem and that is not changing. This has been set up since the prologue chapter (which I hope you all read), wherein which the 7 girls introduced and being focused on in the story would be: Erza, Mirajane, Cana, Juvia, Lucy, Lisanna, and Levy. There were polls to decide the order of the harem and a good majority of you wanted Juvia to be the next in line after Cana. You all decided this (well 44% of 102 of you did to be exact). If some of you don't want Juvia to be in it, fine. I respect that for whatever reason you may give, but I have already made a plan for this and it would be wrong of me (and unfair to all of you) to back out because a few do not like her being in the story. If you stop reading I understand, but I'm staying this course. *Takes off hat*

Now that I'm through being a hardass, let me know what you guys think and leave a comment/review. Thanks for reading. :)


	11. Drowning in Love III

Love is a fickle concept, but it can also be the strongest feeling in the world. It can also be violent and contradictory. It all leads to one point, or rather two points that run parallel to one another. A choice must be made, and an agreement between two halves must happen to make a whole. Whether that conflict be internal or external is wholly dependent on the individual.

This is what makes the Lovers Arcana one of the most powerful - and even the most beautiful - to behold.

* * *

Cana approached the bar and sat down, where she was greeted as usual by Mirajane.

"Good morning, Cana." The barmaid smiled.

"Morning." The brunette returned. She looked around the guild hall as Mirajane brought her morning drink. "Where's Natsu?"

"He and Erza went on a job." Mirajane answered, placing Cana's beverage in front of her on the counter.

"Again?" Cana sighed as she took her glass. "You two really have to stop smothering him."

"We're not smothering him." Mirajane objected. "We just want to make sure Natsu's safe."

"He's a big boy." Cana argued. "He can take care of himself."

"If he could then he and Juvia wouldn't have gotten captured. Now would they?"

Cana narrowed her eyes at the barmaid. "That was an exception and you know it. That hardly counts."

"Regardless, we'll leave him alone when we know he can take care of himself again."

Cana let out another exhausted sigh. She knew it was no use trying to reason with the snow-haired maiden. _The more you push the more he's gonna pull away._ She chose to change the subject. "I don't see Juvia around. Did she drop by earlier?"

"Now that you mention it I was going to ask if you had seen her." Mirajane remembered. "She hasn't been around the guild hall much lately. Even Gray hasn't seen her."

Cana shrugged. "He's not the only one. Her room door in Fairy Hills stays shut, but to be honest I don't even know if she's in there. I knocked this morning but no one answered. I assumed she was here already."

"I hope she's alright." Mirajane worried. "She must still be traumatized from what happened to her. She and Natsu went through quite the ordeal."

"Yeah. I hope she's ok too." Cana took another sip of alcohol and faced the bar again.

* * *

"Erza, I can handle it." Natsu groaned, holding back the vomit that threatened to spew from his mouth.

"Not from the look on your face you can't." Erza disagreed.

"That's just my motion sickness." Natsu argued. "I'll be fine in a minute."

"A minute an enemy would use to their advantage to subdue you." Erza suggested.

"I can take care of myself."

"I know." Erza nodded. "I'm just here to make sure that you do."

"That doesn't make-"Natsu saw the stern look in Erza's eyes and knew he was beaten. No matter what he said she was just going to find a way to counter it. "Fine." He relented. "Do what you want."

"I will. Thank you."

"Yeah. Don't mention it."

Natsu was having trouble getting back into the swing of things after the incident with the bandit slave traders a week ago. It wasn't because he was traumatized by the events per se – in fact he was perfectly fine physically. It was his mental state that was frantic, or rather exhausted. The reason for this was two-fold, or more accurately two women.

To start, Erza offered to accompany him on jobs ever since he returned to the guild, and she refused to take no for an answer. She would arrive at his home in the morning, walk with him to the guild, assist him on his jobs, return with him to the guild, and finally walk him home – along with Mirajane - when the day was done. On one occasion Erza even guarded him while he bathed. Had it not been for Happy she would have gotten in the tub with him.

His other problem was Mirajane. Every time Natsu chose a job the barmaid would "evaluate" it. Then she – along with Erza - would decide if it was safe enough for him to take. It was exhausting. He had been doing non-combative jobs since he got back from Geranium. Locating lost objects, deciphering ancient writings, and other random odd jobs were usually what the two S-Class wizards deemed worthy of him. This was most dangerous job he had been on all week, and it still felt tame compared to what he was used to.

It was suffocating. Natsu was being treated like a child and he hated it. He appreciated their concern, but he was growing weary of their hovering. He tried to tell Master Makarov about it, but he did nothing. The old man citing that "They were only looking out for him." To his further disappointment, the rest of his friends also agreed Erza and Mirajane's tactics. The only person who spoke out against his treatment - surprisingly - was Cana.

"How far is it to the tavern, Happy?" Erza asked.

"According to the map it should be downtown." The exceed explained. The three were currently in Oshibana in search of a criminal by the name of Torn Grilak. He was a dark wizard who used explosion magic. According to reports he was accused of attacking various magic council buildings throughout Fiore with his magic and injured not only council members, but civilians as well. He was recently last seen at a bar in Oshibana called the Devil's Lance .

Natsu, Erza, and Happy stood in front of the bar doors and immediately felt the ominous air emanating from them.

"Apparently this tavern is a regular meeting place for dark wizards." Erza stated.

"Does that mean we have to fight them?" Happy fretted.

"Probably." Natsu nodded. "I'm not worried though." He smirked and punched his palm. "I'll take them all on."

"Not so fast, Natsu." Erza chided. "We'll only fight them if necessary. For now we'll just ask if they've seen Grilak."

"Right." Natsu sullenly agreed.

"Let's go inside." Erza directed.

"Aye." Happy agreed. He followed behind Erza, but Natsu had yet to move.

The dragon slayer looked around the somewhat deserted street, his nose picking up an odd – yet at the same time familiar - scent. _There it is again._ This was the third thing running through his mind after Erza and Mirajane's "help". Ever since returning from Geranium, Natsu felt this weird presence lingering behind him. It felt like someone was following him – watching him -, but he could never prove it. The smell kept shifting. Whoever it was stayed just one step ahead of Natsu's nose. He looked around but saw no one around other than Happy and Erza. _What is that smell?_

"Natsu?" Happy's call brought the dragon slayer back around. "Are you ok?"

Natsu looked down to his worried partner and smiled. "Yeah, buddy, I'm fine." He reassured. "Just zoned out there for a bit."

"What happened?" Erza asked.

"Thought I smelled something, but I guess it was nothing." Natsu answered.

"Well it's good to be cautious." Erza said. "We don't know what's waiting for us inside."

"Right." Natsu nodded. He followed behind Erza and the three entered the bar to dead silence. It was not due to the lack of the patrons inside of the bar – in fact it looked to be over capacity – but because of their cold stares were none too inviting. Happy shook in fear at the suspicious glares, but Natsu and Erza ignored them and made their way to the bar.

When they approached the bald – and rather muscular – bartender Erza called to him. "Excuse me."

The man turned to her, continuing to clean the glass that was in his hands. "Yeah? What do you want? Never seen you around here before."

"We're new in the area." Erza half-lied. She wasn't new to Oshibana in the slightest, but she was new to this particular part of the city. She reached into her breastplate and pulled out a photo. She placed it on the bar top and slid it towards the bartender. It depicted a man with long brown hair and a distinct cross shaped scar over his right eye. He also appeared to be wearing a necklace of some sort around his neck. "Have you seen this man recently by any chance?"

The bartender looked down at the picture. "Nope. Never seen the guy before in my life."

Erza knew he was lying. Places like this always adhered to the motto "Honor among thieves". If Grilak had occupied this bar at some point, it was likely no one she asked would tell her the truth. Erza briefly thought of using violence to get her way, but she chose to press diplomacy one last time. "Please look again. Are you sure you haven't seen him come in the past couple of days? We were told he was last spotted at this tavern."

"Look, lady, I told you I don't know any guy that looks like that. What did he do? Stand you up on a date or something?" The bartender then flashed the knight a sleazy smile. "Shame really. I'd take good care of ya."

Natsu's ears twitched and he stepped forward. "Watch it." He threatened.

Erza held out her arm in front of him to stop his advance. "Calm down, Natsu. I'll handle this."

The bartender looked to the angered Natsu and noticed the guild mark on his arm. His eyes widened "You two are from the Fairy Tail guild?!" he shouted in surprise. All of the patrons in the bar – who had resumed what they were doing earlier - quickly looked to the wizards.

"It looks like we've been outed." Erza sighed. She was really hoping this wouldn't have resorted to an all-out brawl. Natsu on the other hand was waiting for this moment.

"Good." he grinned. "I was getting bored with all of this talking." He turned and addressed the bar. "We're looking for Torn Grilak." He announced. "We know he's been here. So, you jerks can talk now and tell us where he is, or we can beat you all up and then you talk. I really don't care which."

Erza face-palmed. "Oh, Natsu."

"He's really fired-up today." Happy nodded sagely.

The bartender slowly reached under the bar top and quickly pulled out a knife.

"Erza, look out!" Happy shouted.

The knight quickly evaded the downward slash of the bartender's blade and slammed his head into the counter, knocking him out. Using the loud thud as a signal, the barflies attacked.

"Here we go!" Natsu shouted, eagerly jumping into the fray.

Erza summoned two swords and followed behind him while Happy took to the air.

Loud crashes and bangs rang from outside of the bar and into the streets as the brawl took place. Natsu and Erza effortlessly mowed down their enemies despite their superior numbers. Even Happy managed to subdue the numerous enemies by flying around and causing them to collide with one another. There were also bodies flying out of the door and into the street courtesy of Natsu and Erza. During all of the commotion, Happy spotted a man attempting to sneak out of a door behind the bar.

"Natsu! Erza!" he shouted.

The pair looked to the door just in time to see the escaping man's jacket drag underneath it.

"That must be Grilak!" Erza deduced as she knocked out more dark wizards. "Go after him, Natsu! I'll finish things here!"

"Right!" Natsu nodded, taking down more dark wizards as he made his way to the door.

"Be careful!" Erza shouted after him.

"Don't worry, I can handle it!" Natsu shouted back.

When Natsu was gone Erza requipped into her Heaven's Wheel armor. This stopped the dark wizards in their tracks, reminding them of just who they were messing with.

"Wait...did she just requip?!"

"Oh crap. Is that who I think it is?"

"That's Titania Erza!"

"And that other guy using fire magic… that was Salamander!"

"We're so screwed!"

"We gotta get out of here!"

The dark wizards – that were still standing - scrambled to leave the bar but it was too late. Erza was past the point of showing any of them mercy. She summoned numerous swords at her back and raised her arms in the air.

**_CIRCLE SWORD_**

* * *

Natsu chased Grilak through the backstreets behind the bar. "Come back here!" the dragon slayer demanded.

Grilak ignored Natsu and continued running, creating obstacles by throwing nearby barrels and boxes in the dragon slayer's path. Natsu easily destroyed them with his fire magic and followed Grilak into a spacious area of downtown. Unfortunately for the criminal he was now cornered.

"Nowhere to run now." Natsu said as he approached the dark wizard. "Now we can do this the easy way or the hard way."

"I choose hard." Grilak raised his hand in the air and brought it down, creating a massive explosion in the space between himself and Natsu.

"What the hell?!" Natsu yelled, covering his eyes from the wind and dirt.

"See ya later, Fairy Tail!" Grilak shouted as he ran away.

"Wait!" Natsu coughed. He swiped away the dust in his path and much to chagrin his target was gone. "Dammit, where did he go?" He ran forward, failing to notice that Grilak had ducked into the alleyway to his immediate right.

Grilak watched Natsu run forward and smirked. "Finally shook that idiot loose. Now I can find a way out of town and-"he turned around but stopped when an unfamiliar person entered in his path. "Who the hell are you?" he demanded of the stranger. "If you don't wanna get hurt then get out of my-"Suddenly Grilak was engulfed by a fierce torrent of water.

Natsu heard the screams of pain and ran back the way he came. When he finally came across Grilak in the adjacent alleyway, he was shocked to see that not only was the criminal unconscious, he was also soaked from head to toe. "What happened to him?" Natsu wondered. He looked around the alley but saw no burst pipes or broken barrels. Accepting the random stroke of good luck, Natsu shrugged his shoulders and picked up the motionless Grilak. "Back to the bar, I guess. Erza should be done by now."

Natsu returned to the tavern, entering through the back door. When he entered the main bar area he was not surprised to see that all of the dark wizards were defeated. "That didn't take too long." He grinned.

"Natsu." Erza looked the dragon slayer, taking notice of the draped over his shoulder. "You captured Grilak. Good work."

"Thanks. Told you I could handle it."

Happy flew over to him, noticing something else about the immobile criminal. "Why is he all wet? Did you guys fight by a river or something?"

"No." Natsu answered. "I just found him like this."

Erza raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean you 'found him' like that?"

Natsu scratched his cheek and looked away. "He may have…given me the slip."

"You lost him?!" Erza shouted in disbelief.

"Only for a second." Natsu defended. "But that doesn't matter since we got him now, right?" he smiled.

Erza sighed. "I suppose you're right. But still, you should be more focused on the task at hand. Luck was on your side today."

"R-right." Natsu nodded. _Why am I getting chewed out? I was supposed to go on this job alone anyway._

"Let's head back to the train station." Erza said. "We want to get back to Magnolia before sundown. We can drop Grilak off at the local prison for the council to pick up. Then collect the reward."

"Alright." Natsu said.

"Aye." Happy agreed.

* * *

The trio walked the streets of Magnolia towards Fairy Tail, looking to bring good news on the completion of their job to Master Makarov.

Natsu walked a few paces behind Erza and Happy as they entered the market district. He was getting that strange feeling on the back of his neck again. He stopped walking. "Hey, guys?" he called to his comrades.

They both stopped and faced him. "Yes, Natsu?" Erza answered.

"What's up?" Happy asked.

"I'm kinda beat. How about you head back to the guild hall without me?"

Both Erza and Happy were confused by request to say the least. When they looked at him, they saw no visible injuries. He looked perfectly fine.

"Is something the matter?" Erza inquired. "Were you injured during the fight at the bar, or when you were tracking down Grilak?"

"No. No. Nothing like that." Natsu denied. "I'm just a little tired."

"If you say so." Erza said, though she still had doubts. "I'll walk you home and-"

"You don't have to do that, Erza. I'll be fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes." he said firmly.

Erza was slightly upset by his stone refusal, but she acquiesced to his whims. "Alright, I trust you."

Natsu sighed with relief. "Finally."

"But I'll check on you when the guild closes just to be safe. So you better be home."

Natsu's relief quickly returned to exhaustion. "Fine." He exhaled. "I promise I'll be there."

"Good. We'll see you later. Come on, Happy."

"Wait. I want to stay with Natsu." Happy voiced.

"Don't worry about me, buddy." Natsu smiled. "Go back to the guild with Erza."

"But-"

"I'll be fine. Besides, don't you want to tell Carla how cool you were in that bar fight?"

"I guess so…"

"Then go tell her. I'll see you when you get home, ok?"

"Ok." Happy nodded.

"We'll see you later on tonight, Natsu." Erza said, Happy following behind her. Once they were lost in the crowd, Natsu's eyes narrowed and his happy mood turned serious.

He sniffed the air, picking up the strangely familiar scent once again._ Time to find out who's been following me._ He began walking through the crowd at a brisk pace.

A person not too far behind him in the crowd began to quicken their pace as well.

_They're following me._ Natsu noted, using his nose to keep up with their scent. He ducked into a nearby alley. As he suspected his stalker was keeping up. He walked to the other end of the alley and entered the east side of town before dipping into another crowd. He walked a bit further ahead and turned down another alley. He continued this process a few more times, and his pursuer was starting to get frustrated.

_What is he doing?_ They questioned. _He's just walking around in circles ._Their eyes widened in realization. _Could he have spotted me? No, I've been very careful in hiding my scent from him._ The mysterious shadow watched Natsu duck into another his fifth alley and quickly followed behind. Though upon entering, they were shocked to see that the dragon slayer was nowhere in sight. "Where did he go?!" they quickly looked around, but saw no trace of him. "I saw him go down this alley." They frantically searched the narrow space, but all they had to do was look up.

Natsu dug his fingers tighter into the wall of the building on his right and looked down at his pursuer. _A girl? Why is she following me? Only one to find out._ He dropped down behind the girl, who squealed in fright. She knew she was caught. Natsu grabbed her shoulder. "Alright, why don't you tell me why you've been following-"when he turned the girl around, Natsu's eyes went wide in surprise. "Juvia?!"

The rain woman looked into Natsu's shocked eyes and nervously smiled. "N-Natsu, how are you?"

"Are you the one that's been following me around all week?"

Juvia's eyes anxiously cut from left to right. "W-what? Me? Following you? Don't be ridiculous." she refused to look at him. "I wouldn't know anything about something like that. I just happened to see you on the street and I wanted to have a friendly chat."

"Juvia." Natsu's stern call of her name forced the nervous rain woman to finally look his way. "I know you're lying." He then pointed to his nose. "I can smell it. Just tell me the truth."

Juvia tried to think of another lie but it was no use. The jig was up. She sighed in defeat. "You're right. I have been following you."

"Why?"

Juvia began to fidgeting. Pressing the tips of her fingers together. "Because…"

"Because?" Natsu repeated.

"Because…I…" the more Juvia stalled, the redder her face became.

"Juvia?" Natsu called. "Are you ok?"

Juvia clenched her small hands tightly, mustering up all of the courage she could before blurting out: "I want you to fix what you did to me!"

Natsu was startled by Juvia's outburst. "What?! What do you mean?! I didn't do anything to you!"

"Don't lie!" Juvia argued, her face growing redder still. "You know exactly what you did! Ever since the incident with the bandits…" Juvia began nervously. "I…I've been having weird dreams."

Natsu raised an eyebrow. "How is that my fault? What kind of 'weird dreams'?"

Juvia thought of the dreams she always had at night. A confession of love under a starry sky. A picnic date in the fall at South Gate Park. A wedding ring found in a glass of champagne during a candle lit dinner. A glorious and wonderful wedding that was attended by family and friends alike. A passionate night of love-making at a luxurious hotel after a blissful honeymoon. The start of a beautiful family. Usually these blissful visions starred Juvia and her beloved Gray, but for the past week her darling ice wizard slowly morphed into the pink-haired dragon slayer in front of her. Unable to voice her dream's contents due to overwhelming embarrassment, Juvia quickly declared:

"It is completely your fault! I demand you lift this spell you put over me!"

Natsu was even more confused than before. "Spell? What spell?" he took a closer look at his flustered guildmate. Her breathing was heavy, she was sweating, and her cheeks looked as if they were permanently painted red. "Are you alright, Juvia?" he asked, his confusion giving way to concern. "You don't look too good."

"Don't change the subject." Juvia said. "Just fix what you did and-"she saw Natsu walking towards her and she took a step back in fear. "What are you doing?! Stay back! Get awa-"She paused when Natsu put his forehead against hers.

"Stay still would ya?" He said. "I'm trying to check your temperature."

Juvia's body began to heat up and she bit her quivering lip, trying her best to hold back her nervous whimpers. Natsu was touching her directly, and she could barely take it.

"You're burning up." Natsu said. He stepped back from the shaking rain woman. "You should probably see a doctor." He noticed Juvia was looking down at the ground, her face now completely red as her bangs covered her eyes. "Juvia?"

Suddenly a blast of steam expelled from Juvia's body and she passed out.

"Juvia!" Natsu caught her before she hit the ground. Her entire body was hot. Anyone else would have likely been burned from touching her. "Juvia? Juvia?!" Natsu lightly shook his unresponsive guildmate. Oddly enough, she had a smile on her face.

* * *

Juvia's closed eyelids twitched for a moment before fully opening. As her vision cleared, the groggy bluenette found herself staring up at a dark yellow ceiling that was completely unfamiliar to her.

She turned her head – internally grateful for the softness of the pillow her head was resting on – and looked out to the burnt orange and red skyline provided by the window. Courtesy of the setting sun. She tried to rise upright from her back, but her heart jumped in fright when she began to sway from side to side. She looked down, finally realizing she had been resting inside of a hammock.

When the hammock was stable enough, Juvia rose and took a further look at her surroundings. Wherever she was, it was – for lack of a better term – messy. There were clothes and various other items strewn about the floor, walls, window sill, and shelves with reckless abandon. Whoever brought Juvia to this place was obviously not expecting company anytime soon. "Where am I?" she finally asked. Her answer was the scent of soup that latched onto her nose.

Juvia turned her head and saw a familiar head of pink hair walk towards her, a steaming bowl of the soup she smelled in his hands. "Natsu?"

"Hey, Juvia." The dragon slayer smiled in response. "Glad you're finally awake." He presented her the bowl in his hands. "Here, eat this. It should help your fever. Careful though, the bowl is kinda hot."

"Thank you." Juvia grabbed the bowl from Natsu and he sat down on a relatively clean spot on the couch in front of her. Like he warned the bowl was very warm, but it wasn't hot enough to burn her. She looked down at the meal that was prepared for her. The broth was orangeish red, and Juvia could see tomatoes, bay leaves, peas, and chunks of white meat floating around in it. It smelled very alluring. When she tried it, it tasted even better. "What is this?" she asked, her eyes wide with wonder. "It's delicious."

Natsu blushed and looked way in embarrassment, ruffling the back of his spiky pink hair. "Fish soup." He answered. "Mira, showed me how to make it. This is the first time I've made it for someone else – or at all. I'm glad it came out ok."

His nervous smile made Juvia smile softly as well. _He's kind of adorable when he's embarrassed._ She quickly caught her thoughts and shook her head. _What are you doing, Juvia? Thinking like that is what got you here in the first place. Speaking of which…_"Where are we, Natsu?" Juvia asked before putting another spoonful of soup in her mouth.

"Hm?" Natsu titled his head in confusion at the question. "My house, of course."

Juvia spit out her soup almost instantly, her face turning completely red once again. "Y-y-y-your house?!" she squealed.

"What's the big idea, Juvia?" Natsu complained as he wiped the sprayed soup from his face and shoulders. "Geez, now I have to get something to clean this up with." Natsu stood up and walked to his bathroom. Irritably mumbling to himself along the way.

Alone once again, Juvia began to feel the gravity of her situation weigh down on her. She felt like she was stuck in the cell again, but this time she was much more nervous. She had never been inside a man's house before. Though she always imagined what it would be like.

She dreamed she would walk inside of Gray's home and see elevated ceilings with elegant chandeliers hanging from them. She imagined perfectly arranged silverware on a spacious dinner table in a lavish dining hall. Fine art made of ice decorating the halls. Beautiful silk curtains covering windows with breathtaking views of the city. All leading to massive bedroom with rose petals on the floor that lead to her beloved's open arms.

Unwillingly, she had traded this wondrous experience for boring yellow walls, shoddily boarded ceilings, messy floors, and a window with a view that was blocked by the trees of the forest.

Her dreams of a sumptuous penthouse in the city had been replaced by the hard reality of what was essentially a shack in the middle of the woods. Though strangely enough, Juvia didn't really mind this radical change. In fact, even in this less than desirable place she found things that were charming to her.

The couch in front of the hammock – despite being stitched in odd places due to damage – blended perfectly with the wall behind it. The window – while not having a good view of the setting sun – had a perfect view of the now starry sky. The handmade dumbbells positioned under the hammock were neatly racked – even if they were covered by what Juvia assumed were dirty clothes. The knick knacks and such that managed to stay hung on the wall gave the home a very unique feel. Even though she knew little about him, Juvia still managed to come to the conclusion that this place was "Very Natsu." She continued looking around the home when suddenly her eyes stopped on a section of the house to her left. Having finished her soup, she gently placed the bowl in the hammock and walked to the wall in wonder. It was as if she was in a trance.

Natsu emerged from the bathroom not long after, wiping the last remains of soup from his hair and face. He walked back towards the hammock. "Geez, Juvia. Next time warn a guy before you-"when he reached the hammock he noticed she wasn't there. "Juvia? Where'd you go?"

"What is this?" he heard her ask.

Natsu placed the towel on his shoulders and found Juvia. She was standing in front of a board with various pictures and job requests posted on it. Under the board was a desk with various objects placed neatly on top, and next to that was a dress mannequin with a maid outfit. On the other side of the mannequin was sack holding a bunch of rocks. Natsu grinned and walked to the stunned Juvia's side. "This is my memory wall."

"Memory wall?" Juvia repeated in awe as she looked over everything in front of her. It was so neat and clean. A stark contrast to everything else in the house.

"Yep." Natsu nodded proudly. "This where all I keep all the stuff I get from jobs."

Juvia turned to Natsu, her eyes still wide with wonder. "You keep things from the jobs you go on? Why?"

"For the memories of course." Natsu chuckled with a smile. "See?" he pointed to a request near the top of the board. The reward was only around 1000 jewel. "That was the first job I ever did. I had to help this old lady find her lost pet. She was so impressed by how quick I did it that she even paid me double…but I had to give almost all of it back when I nearly destroyed her house when her cat attacked me afterwards." Natsu laughed in embarrassment. Juvia giggled as well.

Next he pointed to the Salamander autograph. "That's something I got from that Bora guy when I was following what I thought was a lead on Igneel." He smiled wider. "That was also the day I met Lucy."

"Really?" Juvia asked. She had almost forgotten that Natsu and Bora had encountered one another before.

"Yeah." Natsu pointed to the job request about the Daybreak book. "That's the first job Lucy and I went on as a team." He directed Juvia's gaze to the maid uniform. "Happy and I thought dressing her up as a maid would help, but it didn't. Lucy said it was because that Everlue guy wasn't interested in her. I think she wasn't trying hard enough."

Juvia laughed again at Natsu's explanation. She could imagine how uncomfortable Lucy would be in such an outfit.

"That job over there is the first one I went on with Lisanna." Natsu pointed. "That necklace on the desk with the skull on it is from when Me, Happy, Lucy, Gray, Happy, and Erza helped the demon people on Galuna Island. It was my first S-Class quest…but we weren't supposed to go on it. Everyone except Erza got in big trouble when we got back."

"What happened?" Juvia curiously asked.

Natsu's face quickly turned white at her question. "I…don't wanna talk about it."

Juvia understood his fear and accepted his words with a nod. She had heard tell of Master Makarov's punishments from various guild members.

"That rock is a piece of Nirvana from the Oracion Seis job. Those pile of rocks in the sack are from when I rescued Erza from the Magic Council trial. Oh and that glass is from the party where Cana and I caught that thief. Over there is…"

As Natsu continued his tour of memories, Juvia couldn't help but gravitate towards the warmth and sincerity of his voice. Natsu spoke so fondly of each object and job request present on the wall, and Juvia could tell that each thing she showed him was a precious as the next.

"Oh!" Natsu exclaimed, bringing Juvia out of her head. "I almost forgot." He walked away from the wall and began searching for something on the cluttered floor. "Where is it?" he mumbled, overturning clothing, pots, and other random items. "I know I brought it when we got back."

"What are you looking for?" Juvia asked.

He unwittingly ignored her question.

"Natsu?"

"Found it!" Natsu shouted in victory. He stood up and walked back to the wall, holding beige stones – a tad smaller than his palm - in his hands. He stopped and looked at Juvia for a moment before placing one of the stones down on the ground. He lit the index finger of his right hand aflame and pressed it against the stone. He carefully wrote something on it then held it out to the curious rain woman. "Here." When she took it from him he picked up the second stone and wrote on it as well. He placed that stone on the desk next to the skull necklace.

Juvia looked down rock Natsu gave her. It read "JUVIA". "What is this?" she asked.

"You don't remember?" Natsu reminded. "That's a stone from the hot spring we helped build in Geranium."

Juvia's eyes widened in surprise. Natsu was right, it was one of the stones they used to help construct the village's hot spring.

"That one is yours." Natsu pointed. He grabbed the stone he placed on the desk. "And this one is mine." He held it up to her face, and sure enough there was his name. Burned onto the stone just like hers was. "I thought it would be easier to tell them apart that way. Yours is a bit bigger than mine also."

"Why did you give me this?" she asked, completely taken aback.

"What do you mean? The job asked for the both of us, right? That means you get a piece too." His smile made Juvia's heart jump. "I can understand why you're confused though." Natsu smiled ruefully. "Girls don't like being given rocks. If you don't want it I can take it back." He reached for Juvia's stone.

Juvia quickly jerked her hands back, surprising Natsu. "No!" she protested. "I-I'll keep it."

"Are you sure?"

Juvia nodded, hugging the rock to her body as if it were her child. "Yes. I'm sure. I want to keep it." Sure to most people it was just a meaningless rock they would throw away, but to Juvia it was important. She had never been given a gift before. This was a sign of friendship – of trust - and she vowed to treasure it for as long as she lived.

"Well alright." Natsu smiled.

Another thump in Juvia's chest. She looked down again, her face turning red.

"Is your fever back?" Natsu asked.

"Huh?" Juvia squeaked, looking up at him. "My fever? No! I-"Once more Natsu touched Juvia's forehead, though this time it was with the back of his hand. For some reason Juvia was sad it wasn't his forehead.

"Your temperature is back to normal." Natsu said. "That's good. Looks like the soup worked, but why are your cheeks still red if you're not sick?"

Juvia quickly jumped back. "I'm just a little warm." She lied with a nervous smile. "It's really nothing to worry about."

"If you say so." Natsu relented.

Juvia exhaled deeply, her cheeks returning to normal. She looked around the home again. "It really is messy here."

"Yeah." Natsu admitted. "I haven't really had a chance to clean since I got back from Geranium." _Mostly because Erza and Mira won't let me have any privacy. _He irritably thought.

"I can help you clean…if you want." Juvia offered, her cheeks slowly turning pink again.

"Really?!" Natsu exclaimed.

Juvia nodded. "As a thank you for the memento." She hugged the stone to her chest.

"Awesome!" Natsu happily shouted. "With the both of us we'll get done in no time!"

"We will." She nodded with a smile.

The two got busy cleaning. It was a somewhat strenuous process, but the two wizards managed to pull off the task without too much trouble. As they cleaned and talked about various topics, Juvia found herself slowly being more comfortable with Natsu's presence. Though she still found herself blushing around him from time to time. After about two hours the cleaning of Natsu's home was finally complete. The two stood near the front door, both of them proud at how good a job they did.

"Thanks again, Juvia." Natsu said. "I've never seen the place so clean before."

"You're welcome. Just make sure it stays that way please." She advised.

"I'll try." Natsu laughed, scratching the back of his head.

As silence overtook them, Juvia began to fidget again. This was becoming a regular occurrence with her as of late when it came to the dragon slayer. "Actually…I wanted to thank you as well."

Natsu looked to her. "For what?"

"For what happened in the mountains. If you weren't there…I don't know how I would have managed. I was nothing but rude to you, yet you still saved me and helped all of those people."

"That's not really something you need to thank me for." Natsu looked back out to his newly cleaned house. "Those people needed our help so we saved them. It was the right thing to do and…" he looked back to her, with his toothy grin. "Even if you hated my guts I would still save you, because we both belong to the Fairy Tail guild."

Juvia's heart nearly burst from her chest. When she looked at Natsu, she felt the same weakness that she normally experienced around Gray, but for some reason this weakness was just a bit stronger around the dragon slayer. She had no idea what was happening to her. She thought following him around for a week would allow her to pinpoint why it was she was feeling this way, but instead that only strengthened these new feelings.

"I gotta admit I was kinda freaked when I found out you were following me around." He chuckled. "I guess I know how Gray feels now."

Juvia's face fell when she heard Gray's name. Was it right for her to have these budding, yet unknown feelings for Natsu while still harboring emotions for Gray? She felt unfaithful, and even guilty. Natsu picked up on this and quickly apologized for what he said.

"I didn't mean to make you sad." He said. "I was just joking. Sorry."

"No. No." Juvia shook her head. "There's no need to apologize. You didn't do anything wrong. It was my fault. I shouldn't have followed you around without you knowing about it."

"It's ok." Natsu reassured. "If it wasn't for you I probably wouldn't have caught that guy in Oshibana. That was you that stopped him, wasn't it?"

Juvia nodded. "Yes. It was."

"I thought so." Natsu smiled. "I appreciate the help, but if you want to talk to me about something you can just come up and ask instead of following me around." He chuckled.

"I will." Juvia nodded.

"So, what were you saying earlier about a spell?"

"Spell?"

"Yeah, before you passed out in the alley you were yelling about how I 'put some kind of spell' on you or something. You also said you were having 'weird dreams'."

Juvia slowly remembered her ramblings and instantly turned red from embarrassment. "T-that?!" she asked with a quivering smile. "I was just delirious from fever!" she lied.

"Your fever was messing with you?"

"Y-yes!" Juvia nodded repeatedly. "Please forget whatever you heard me say." She pleaded. "I wasn't in my right mind."

Natsu shrugged. "Fine by me. As long as you're ok now I guess it doesn't really matter."

"Thank you." She sighed with relief. She then looked out of the window. "I should be going. It's quite late." Even though she said this part of her wanted to stay a little longer.

Natsu looked out of the window. "Oh yeah it is pretty dark out, huh?" He looked back to Juvia. "Want me to walk you back home?"

"What?!" she squeaked. She cleared her throat and answered normally. "N-no. You've done more than enough for me already. I'll be fine, but thank you for the offer." She smiled.

"If you say so." Natsu opened the door to let her out.

"Thank you for the meal." Juvia bowed. "I'll see you at the guild hall tomorrow." When she rose upright, the card reappeared in front of her face. Not that she could see it.

"Hold up, Juvia." Natsu called.

"Yes? What is it?"

"You got something on your face."

"I do?" she began to feel her face for anything unusual. "Where is it?"

"On your nose. I'll get it for ya."

"T-thank you."

"Hold still." Natsu reached his finger out and touched the card, poking the tip of Juvia's nose in the process. Juvia tensed at his touch. The warmth of his finger making her blush for the umpteenth time that night. "Got it." He smiled.

"T-thank you, Natsu." Juvia said, touching her nose with her palm. It was still warm.

"You're welcome." His smile grew weaker. "See you…tomorrow…" his voice trailed off and he fell to the ground with a thud, frightening Juvia.

"Natsu!" she dashed to his side. "Are you ok?!" she frantically asked. "Please, talk to me!"

She turned him over and noticed that he was only sleeping. A wave of calm washed over her. "Thank goodness. Don't scare me like that." She looked at his slumbering face. He looked so peaceful and innocent. Seeing the perfect chance for revenge, Juvia poked the tip of his nose with her finger just as she did him. When Natsu's face scrunched up and his mouth wiggled, Juvia quickly pulled her hand back. "Sorry." She apologized.

Natsu subconsciously rubbed his nose and went back to snoring. Juvia smiled at him. She then stood up, draping one arm over her shoulder as she pulled Natsu to his feet and walked him to his hammock. Surprisingly, he was much heavier than she thought.

Upon reaching the hammock she used her water magic to create a platform to lift him into it. Once he was perfectly set she removed his vest and placed it on the couch. She didn't want him to catch a cold from the water. Before pulling the blanket over him, Juvia couldn't help but marvel at the dragon slayer's exposed upper body. Despite the odd scar here and there, Natsu was near perfectly toned with lean muscle. She never really noticed before because his vest covered it up. Now that she had a better view, the rain woman couldn't help but make comparisons. She slid her finger down his abs. _He's more muscular here than Gray. _

She quickly caught herself and shook the fantasies from her head. _Focus, Juvia! You can't assault him while he is sleeping. After all he's done for you that would be disrespectful._ She pulled the blanket over his sleeping form and moved to the door. She looked to the engraved stone in her hand before she gave the sleeping dragon slayer one last smile. "Good night, Natsu." She softly closed the door behind her as she walked into the night.

* * *

Natsu walked into what appeared to be a restaurant in a deserted town. He looked around the empty establishment and saw Betty sitting at a corner table near one of the windows. He approached her.

"Welcome back." She smiled at him.

"How do you find all of these places?" Natsu asked as he pulled out his chair and sat down.

"I've been around for a long time, kid. I've seen a few things."

"I guess so." Natsu said. He chose not to mention that they were the only two people that were ever in these places. He knew Betty was already aware of this anyway.

"What do you have for me this time?"

Natsu reached into his pocket and handed the card to Betty.

The elderly woman looked at the card then back to Natsu. When she looked at the card a second time, a sly smile tugged at her lips. "Well. Well. Well." She said.

"Well what?" Natsu questioned.

She showed the card to him. "Looks like someone hit the jackpot. You've gotten yourself the Lovers Arcana."

Natsu's eyes went wide. "W-what?!" he blurted out.

"I see you're already familiar with it." Betty smiled mischievously, she was enjoying Natsu's embarrassment. "Even so I'll give you a quick refresher. The Lovers Arcana represents a relationship between two people. Just like its name implies it represents love."

"Well then it must be wrong." Natsu asserted. "There's no way Juvia is in love with me. She's all gaga over Gray. I still don't even know if she likes me."

"You young people are always so impatient." Betty shook her head in disappointment. "You didn't let me finish what I was saying. There is another meaning to the Arcana."

"Sorry." Natsu apologized. "What's the other meaning?"

Betty cleared her throat. "Like I said earlier it represents love and relationships, but it also represents a crossroads in a person's life."

"Crossroads?"

"I didn't know you were a parrot slayer." Betty joked, much to Natsu's irritation. "Yes. A crossroads. This girl…Juvia was it? She's a reached a fork in the road and she has to make a decision in order to move forward. She must choose a path."

"So you're saying that these 'two paths', are me and Gray? She needs to choose between the two of us?" Natsu questioned, still shocked by the news.

Betty nodded. "If I were still a betting woman I'd put money on that assumption."

Natsu sat back in his chair. He didn't know what to say. A couple of days ago he was sure Juvia hated his guts, now he was being told that the rain woman was now stuck choosing between him and Gray. It was a shocking concept to process.

"You look shocked." Betty chuckled. "Something bothering you about this girl?"

"Yeah." Natsu nodded. "I mean it's nothing bad. I like Juvia. She's a nice person and a really strong wizard, but she's always been around Gray since she joined the guild. It's kinda weird hearing that she has to choose between one of us."

"That's the thing. She may not even know how she fully feels yet, but this does." Betty held up the card again. "There are two paths before her. Even if you are collecting the Arcana, she may choose that Gray fella over you. You can't force her decision. Doing so will taint the Arcana."

"What does that mean?"

"It means that it's something you don't want happening. Trust me. If she picks Gray you cannot do anything about it."

Natsu stretched his arms overhead and stood up. "If she does that's fine. I'm not going to force her to do anything. Juvia's a member of my guild, so I'll accept anything. It's her decision, not mine. I just want her to be happy."

Betty smiled warmly at Natsu's response. "I shouldn't have expected anything else from you. Ready to go?"

"Yeah." Natsu nodded with a yawn. "I'm beat."

"Alright." Betty stood up and walked to Natsu. "One last thing before you go."

'What is it-"Natsu blushed when Betty placed her hand on his cheek. It was surprisingly warm. As was the smile on her lips.

"I'm glad you came back safely." She said.

Natsu could only nod in response. "Y-yeah."

"See you next time, Natsu."

"Bye, Betty."

They both closed their eyes and in a flash of white Natsu was gone from the restaurant.

* * *

"Natsu?" Erza called. She had been knocking on the door for some time, but had yet to receive an answer. "Natsu, open up." Mirajane, Cana, and Happy were with her.

"He's probably sleeping." Cana suggested.

"Why are you here, Cana?" Mirajane asked with narrowed eyes. "I told you Erza and I would be fine checking on Natsu."

"That's why I'm here." The brunette retorted. "To make sure you two don't go overboard when you 'check' on Natsu."

"Overboard?" Mirajane repeated in offense. "What is that supposed to me-"

Just then the front door of the house burst from its hinges, alarming Mirajane and Cana. Erza stood in front of them with a sword in her hand. It didn't take long to figure out what happened.

"I think I see your point now." Mirajane sweatdropped. Cana face palmed.

"I hope you fix that." Happy deadpanned to Erza.

"Natsu, I'm coming in!" the redhead announced.

"Erza, hold on!" Mirajane called.

The knight and her companions stepped into the modest home.

"Wow, this place is way cleaner than I thought it would be." Cana marveled.

"Aye." Happy nodded. "That's weird. It's never been this clean before."

"Natsu, you better answer me if you're in here or-"Erza stopped her tirade when she saw the dragon slayer sleeping peacefully in his hammock. Apparently he hadn't heard Erza's booming voice, or her demolishing of his door.

"I told you he was probably sleeping." Cana reminded. "Can we go now before Erza breaks something else?"

"Cana's right." Mirajane agreed. "Natsu's fine. We should let him rest."

"Ok." Erza nodded. "We'll take our leave." She then smiled at Natsu. _Thank goodness he's alright._

"We will see you tomorrow, Happy." Mirajane waved. "Good night."

"Good night." The exceed yawned. He watched the three girls walk out of the now barren archway before flying to his hammock. He wanted to comment on the door, but he was much too tired. He looked down to the snoring dragon slayer below him. "I'll tell him tomorrow."

* * *

Natsu sat at the bar the next day surrounded by Mirajane, Erza, and Cana. His face was scrunched up, his eyes narrowed at the large chicken leg in front of him.

"What's wrong, Natsu?" Mirajane asked. "Is the food not good?"

"No, it's not that." He shook his head. "When I woke up this morning, my door was gone. Like someone broke through it."

Erza almost choked on her tea and began to cough.

"You alright, Erza?" Natsu asked.

"Yes, Erza." Cana said with an accusatory tone. "Whatever is the matter?"

"Do you have some idea as to what happened to Natsu's door?" Mirajane smiled. Erza could tell it was a fake.

"Not in the slightest." She lied. Wiping her mouth with her napkin - which she also used to her hide her embarrassed blush. She looked away. "Perhaps it was some kind of wild animal. You do live near the forest after all."

"Maybe." Natsu pondered. "But the animals have never come out that far before. Besides it looked it was cut by a sword or something. I don't think any of the animals have claws that sharp."

"What did Happy have to say?" Cana asked. "Did he see anything?" Cana's inquiry earned her a glare from Erza. She shrugged it off.

"He said he didn't remember what happened." Natsu answered.

"Well that settles it!" Erza exclaimed. "It's an unsolvable mystery. You'll just have to get a new door."

"I guess." Natsu muttered.

Erza sighed in relief, but quickly felt guilty when she felt Mirajane and Cana's disappointed stares on her.

"Natsu! Erza!" Lucy called. "I found a job!"

"Do you want to go?!" Wendy called after.

Erza looked to Natsu. "What do you say?"

Natsu nodded with a smile. "Yeah! I was starting to get bored. What about you, Cana? Wanna go?"

"I appreciate the offer but I'll pass." She politely declined. "I promised Macao I would go on a job with him and Romeo today. I'm supposed to meet them at the train station in an hour."

"Alright." Natsu accepted.

"Come onor we're gonna leave you behind!" Gray called from the stairs.

"Sorry, we're coming!" Erza replied. "Let's go, Natsu."

"Right." Natsu nodded. He met his friends at the stairs, but just before they were set to leave Natsu's nose caught a scent. "Hold on, guys!" he shouted before jumping from the stairs and back towards the bar.

"Natsu?!" Lucy called.

"Where are you going, you idiot?!" Gray shouted.

"We'll miss the train!" Carla reminded.

"Just give me a minute!" Natsu shouted back. He walked to a seemingly random pillar by the left wall. When he peeked behind it he saw a familiar head of navy blue hair. "You want to come with us, Juvia?"

The rain woman perked up at the sound of her name and she turned to face Natsu. She was impressed that she found her lurking behind the pillar. "D-do you really want me to?" she asked, completely caught off-guard by the sudden question.

"I asked didn't I?" He held out his hand to her. "Come on, we'll miss the train if we don't hurry."

Juvia reached out, pulling back briefly, before hesitantly grabbing Natsu's fingers. They were so warm. The skin on skin contact made her heart rate speed up again. Natsu pulled her from behind the pillar and grabbed her hand firmly, pulling her along as he walked back towards the others.

"Room for one more, guys?!" he asked.

"Sure." Lucy smiled.

"You want to come with us, Juvia?" Wendy innocently inquired.

"I-if you'll have me." Juvia nervously replied.

"I see no problem with it." Erza nodded. "What about you, Gray?" she looked to the ice wizard.

"Why would I have a problem? I just wanna make sure we make the train on time."

Juvia saw the look the nonchalant look Gray's face and she bowed her head in shame. That's when Natsu spoke to her.

"You don't have to be nervous." He said as he continued pulling her along. "We're going on a job together with our friends." He looked over his shoulder at her, his toothy grin on his face. "It'll be fun."

Juvia blushed before returned Natsu's smile. "Yes." She nodded, gripping his hand just a tighter in her fingers.

* * *

In an empty room on the second floor of the Fairy Hill's dormitory, the sun's ray shined brilliantly. Illuminating the once dark space, the light stopped on a nightstand next to a nicely made bed. On the nightstand two objects were placed with the utmost care. On the right of the nightstand sat a plushie in the likeness of Gray Fullbuster. On the left side of the nightstand – closest to the bed – rested a simple stone – no bigger than the palm of someone's hand – that was engrained with the name: JUVIA.

* * *

**Juvia's story is officially done! How did you guys like it? It took quite a while to get things set up, but I believe it worked out in the end. If you hadn't noticed I didn't make her immediately fall in love with Natsu, but there is differently a feeling there that will be explored further and grow. I chose the longer route with Juvia since I had to make a believable situation where she would start to move away from Gray. I think I succeeded in that regard but tell me what you all think.**

**The next poll will be up in the next couple of days, so be on the look out for that. We're down to the final three!**

**As alwyas leave a review letting me know what you think! Thanks for reading! :)**


	12. Script of the Priestess I

**Sorry for the long wait! The newest piece is laid and this time...it's Levy!**

* * *

It was a quiet night in Magnolia. The streets only being occupied with those still frequenting the late night pubs.

"Is this really the strongest drink you guys got? I'm hardly tipsy! Give me another!"

"Come on, Cana. You've drank half the bar already."

The brunette waved off the weary bartender's concerns and he refilled her drink. Upon taking a sip, Cana's mind wandered to thoughts a young man with pink-hair. "I wonder if Natsu would drink with me if I asked." She finished the mug and slammed it on the counter top. "Another!"

The bartender sighed wearily. "Coming right up."

The Fairy Tail guild hall had long ago closed down for the evening, but the cleaning was still being carried on by its barmaids. Along with a couple of helpers.

"I'll help you clean the rest of these dishes, Mira."

"Thank you, Kinana. Elfman, can you take those empty barrels to the basement, please?"

"Sure thing, sis." The massive man grabbed four of the barrels under his tree trunk-like arms and began walking to the guild's basement.

"Hold on, Elf. I'll help."

"Thanks, Lisanna, but don't hurt yourself. These things are pretty big."

The youngest Strauss pouted. "I can handle it, Elf. Geez, I'm not a little kid anymore." she grabbed a barrel and followed him downstairs, leaving Kinana and her older sister alone to wash the dishes.

Looking up from the running sink, Kinana wiped her brow of sweat when upon seeing the broken chairs and tables piled near the guild's entrance. "Natsu made a bigger mess than usual today, didn't he? I hope Laki won't be too angry about replacing all of that furniture."

Mirajane smiled warmly, her thoughts lingering on the destructive dragon slayer. He was particularly fired up today. Had it not been for Erza; he, Gray, and Gajeel would have brought the entire guild down around them. "I'm sure it'll be fine. Laki is used to this by now." She dried the last of the dishes. "After Elfman and Lisanna return we can lock up for the night."

Kinana nodded with a smile. "Sounds good."

While the Fairy Tail guild hall underwent it's nightly tidying up, its guild members were comfortably nestled in their homes for the evening. Minus a few exceptions.

Inside an apartment on Strawberry Street – close to the town's shopping district - Lucy sat at her desk; the lamp focused on the blank piece of paper before her. She tapped the bottom of her worn pencil on the wood of the desk top, hoping that the ideas locked away in her mind would burst forth in a wellspring of inspiration. She had been holding on to this hope for well over an hour.

"Writer's block sucks." She groaned, lowering her head to the desk.

Atop a hill on the other side of town – past Cardia Cathedral and the Fairy Tail guild hall itself - stood the Fairy Hills girl's dormitory.

Housed within its walls were some of the most beautiful – as well as the most dangerous – women Fairy Tail counted among its roster. All of it's residents - minus a certain fortune telling brunette - were all accounted for.

Inside a room on the first floor was a woman made of water. She sat in her neatly made bed, hugging a plushie in the likeness of a black-haired ice wizard to her body. Though her body was warmed by the plush, her eyes were focused on a rock on that sat on her nightstand. As she scanned over the engraving of her name, she smiled tenderly. Her cheeks tinged pink at the thought of the person who gave it to her.

A room just a few doors down from her was occupied by a young girl with long blue hair, who was happily conversing with a white tabby. Both of them had vastly different views of the job they accepted earlier in the day with the same young man the rain woman thought of. The young girl spoke fondly of him, while the tabby constantly questioned both his methods, and her young friend's sanity.

In another room across from this pair, a bespectacled brunette sat in the moonlight shining through her window. Fancying herself a queen of sorts, she leisurely fanned herself as she proudly looked the rather risqué male sculptures in her room.

Above them on the second floor, the red haired matron of the dormitory carefully inspected her seemingly endless array of swords and armor. Making absolutely sure each piece was free of any nicks, scratches, or other imperfections. She was going on an S-Class job in the morning, and thus needed all of her equipment to be in proper working order.

Using a cloth to clean the dirt from one of her katanas - before powdering and applying more oil - her mind drifted to the pink-haired young man she had seen a few hours earlier. He seemed to be a common topic of thought for many this night.

Looking at her reflection in the restored blade, she wondered if she should have asked him to accompany her on her job. It would have only been the two of them. Alone together in the countryside for two days without anyone to disturb them. Her cheeks flushed as red as her hair at the thought and she quickly shook her head, sending her katana back into it's dimension with the rest of her weapons.

"I couldn't ask him…" her cheeks burned redder as she thought of his smiling face. "I would be unable to focus."

Returning to the first floor, a room near the edge of the hall was filled to the brim an impressive number of bookshelves that were filled with an equally impressive number of books of varying genres, ranging from historical non-fiction to romance to even atlases. In all of this somewhat organized chaos, a girl with wavy sapphire hair sat at a lamp-lit desk. Her face was currently buried in the pages of the last book of a rather impressive stack on her desk.

Light pen in hand, the girl's gale-force reading glasses literally made the pages of the book turn with the speed of the wind. "The sentence translated would be written like this, but that doesn't make sense. That word means something completely different now. Let's switch it to this verb." She waved her pen over the page, shifting the letters to ones she could easily read.

"There that's better."

Levy had been at it for nearly half of the day, fiercely determined to decrypt the ancient and foreign texts on her desk. They had been given to her by Master Makarov to translate. Afterwards she would store them in the guild's library for everyone to check out. This was nothing new for the scholarly scribe. While translating early languages was a long – at times maddening – process, Levy enjoyed it. This kind of work was much more appealing to her than jobs that involved combat, and Master Makarov rewarding her a little jewel each time for doing so didn't sway her opinion – though she would have gladly done the work for free.

"If I use this translation." More swipes of the light pen could be seen in the darkness.

"Annnnd...done!"

Levy closed the book and held it up over her head in triumph. "That's the last one." She placed it on top of the stack and leaned back in her chair, stretching her arms overhead to relax her aching muscles. She looked out of her window to the night sky. The moon was especially bright tonight.

She then looked to her clock on the wall. It was nearing midnight. Her eyes widened in surprise. "Wow. That took longer than I thought." She stood up from her desk, yawning as she turned out her lamp. "Time for bed."

* * *

"It's nice to come out here and relax every once in a while, isn't it?"

"Yeah. I feel like I could just fall asleep right here in the sand."

"You're already sleeping."

"You know what I mean."

Natsu looked over the ocean's horizon to the slowly rising sun with a smile. This was the most relaxed he had been all week. He was not alone in this beach paradise however, Betty sat on a towel under a rather large umbrella not too far from him.

The sound of the tide rolling in and out of the shore calmed the both of them. For the past few hours they sat in these spots, making casual conversation about random topics that wouldn't mean much to anyone that happened to overhear them.

Lately Betty had been calling to Natsu in his dreams, pulling his consciousness into her dimension seemingly at random while he slept. There wasn't a particular reason for her doing this. She simply wanted to talk.

Natsu happily obliged to their meetings. Seeing as how Betty never disturbed his physical body - which was currently resting in his hammock at home at this particular moment - when she called him

"You really can't tell me anything else about the Arcana?"

"Sorry. I can't give you any more information than you already have." She watched Natsu sulk at her answer, and a grin tugged at her lips. "But since you managed to get four of the Arcana so fast, I suppose I could give you a little help as a reward." The glint in Natsu's eyes prompted her to continue. "They say there exists an ancient grimoire that holds all of the secrets of the Arcana."

Natsu's eyes widened in disbelief. "Really?!"

"Yep, but the book has been lost for ages. Nearly all known record of it's been lost. Hell, I can't even remember the name of the thing."

"That's not gonna stop me." Natsu declared. "If it's out there, I'll find it."

"Nice to see you so gung-ho." Betty giggled. "But I wouldn't get my hopes up over what's most likely a wild goose chase."

The sun was now positioned over the ocean, signaling that their leisure time was over.

"Time for you to head back."

Natsu stretched his arms overhead and stood up. "Looks like it."

Betty stood in front of him and smiled. "Happy hunting with that book."

Natsu nodded with a confident grin. "Thanks. See ya, Betty."

"Till next time." She touched his forehead and Natsu disappeared in a white light.

* * *

The shining rays of the real sun greeting his physical body, Natsu jumped from his hammock and walked to his door. Eager to get a whiff of the new day's air. When he stepped outside, he felt something near his foot. He looked down, taking notice of a wicker basket filled with fruit and pastries on his doorstep.

"What's this doing here?"

He picked up the basket, walked back inside his home, and set it on the kitchen table. "Someone leave it behind on accident or something?"

Happy – having woken up not too long after Natsu – walked up to him.

"Morning, buddy."

"Morning." The exceed yawned. "What's going on?"

Natsu pointed to the basket. "Found this outside the door."

"A basket?" Happy flew to the top of the table and looked over the strange object. "Who do you think left it behind?"

"Beats me." Natsu took an apple from the basket and held it to Happy. "Want one?"

"I'll pass."

Natsu shrugged indifferently and recalled the apple. "Suit yourself. More for me." He took a bite.

"Wait, Natsu! Don't eat that!"

"Why not?" Natsu muffled with a mouth full of apple.

"It could be poison!"

Natsu's eyes widened in shock at this prospect and he quickly spit out the fruit. "You're right! I didn't even think of that! Oh crap what do I do?!"

"You have to wash out your mouth!"

"I can use the pond in the woods! There's tons of water there!"

"Go!"

"Right!"

Natsu raced out of the door and headed straight for the forest behind his home. When he reached the clearing with the pond, he plunging his head into the cold water. The fish instantly changed directions in fear upon seeing the frenzied dragon slayer gurgling and making bubbles in the water. Natsu gasped when his head surfaced, frantically wiping his tongue off with his hands.

While he did that, Happy began rifling through the basket in search of something that would tell the pair who left the potential fatal fruit. Natsu came back not long after, believing he had successfully rid his mouth and body of poison.

"What are you looking for?"

The tomcat pulled out an envelope from the basket. "This." He handed it to Natsu.

Natsu turned over the envelope in his hand. Unsurprisingly it had no sender. The only thing on the front was his name written in rather fancy pink lettering. "That's weird."

"It's probably a clue from whoever left the basket."

"You're right. I'm going to open it."

Happy nodded in tentative approval and watched Natsu singe the edge of the envelope. The dragon slayer slowly unsealed it and pulled out a tri-folded piece of paper that was inside. After inspecting the now empty envelope for anything else from the sender, Natsu burned it and looked back to the folded paper. He opened it.

"It's a letter."

"From who?"

_**Dear Natsu,**_

_**I am unable to accompany you to the guild hall today or tomorrow. I have taken part in a most urgent job with my darling Gray, Wendy, and my Love Rival. As an apology I leave both you and Happy this basket of food. The fruit is fresh from the market, and I baked the pastries myself. I also personally washed the fruit so you needn't worry about getting sick from it. Meat and fish is fine, but you must really start eating healthier if you want to become stronger. There is no need to pay me back. I hope you have a good day. I will tell you about the job when I return.**_

_**Sincerely your friend,**_

_**Juvia Lockser**_

"Who wrote the note?" Happy asked again, having become even more nervous due to Natsu's silence.

Natsu internally sighed at how crazy he had been. _Of course she left it here._ He took another apple out of the basket and bit into it, much to the overwhelming shock of his partner.

"What are you doing?! That stuff is poisonous!"

"Relax." Natsu muffled. "Juvia left the basket. The note said she was sorry she couldn't stop by today. She had to go on a job."

Happy's rapid heartrate returned to normal. "Oh, ok."

For the past couple of weeks Juvia had walked with Natsu and Happy to the guild hall. She would greet them with a smile and bow each morning, bringing freshly made pastries for them all to eat. It was a surprising sight when the pair saw the nervous rain woman on their doorstep that first day, but they gradually got used to it. Especially when it came to the free food.

Slowly but surely, Natsu started seeing a different side of the rain woman. Her nervousness began shifting into a comfortable confidence, and her smile grew bigger and bigger each time they were together. While she still flocked to Gray's side and called Lucy a love rival when they reached the guild, Natsu could tell that Juvia was making small steps towards changing herself. Not that he ever asked her to.

Natsu placed one of the melon breads in his mouth and walked over to his hammock. After putting on his vest and wrapping his scarf around his neck, he was finally ready to properly start the day. He took a bite out of the bread, the sweet taste tickling his tongue. "You ready, Happy?"

"Aye." The exceed nodded with a mouth full of fish.

* * *

Levy entered the guild hall with a stack of books in hand. Six in total. At her side – as usual - were Jet and Droy, each of them carrying ten books.

After helping the petite wizard bring the books to Fairy Hills the previous day, the eager young men of Shadowgear just as quickly volunteered to return the books with her as well. Levy – while thankful for their help - reluctantly agreed to these terms.

Despite making her romantic intentions towards Jet and Droy – or lack thereof - clear years ago, the pair remained at Levy's side. This made her more than a little guilty. Levy always felt as if she was taking advantage of Jet and Droy. That the two stuck by her side all this time in the hopes that she would choose one of them one day. She feigned ignorance of their feelings, so Jet and Droy were blissfully unaware of her concerns. This made her feel guiltier.

As Shadowgear headed to the guild's library, they were stopped on the way by greetings from Mirajane.

"Good morning, you three."

"Morning, Mira." Levy returned with a bright smile.

"Bringing more books back to the library?"

"Yeah." The script wizard tittered. "Master Makarov gave me quite a few this time around. I'm surprised I finished translating all of them in one day."

"The fact that you can translate them at all is what astonishes me." Mirajane giggled. "I was never really good with ancient languages and such. My specialty was to hit things until they stopped moving."

Levy giggled as well. "That's a common skill in the guild."

"At least you have two strong men to protect you when you go out." The barmaid smiled at Jet and Droy, who perked up at Mirajane's mention of their names. Their cool facades all but fading away in an instant.

"Of course we protect her!" Droy declared with a proud smile.

"There's no way we'd leave Levy all alone. We're a team." Jet added.

"Where is everyone?" Levy was looking around the guild hall as she asked this question. The place was surprisingly bare, with only a few members scattered around at the tables.

"On jobs." Mirajane answered simply. "The Master is gone as well. He's attending a meeting in Era."

"Everyone's been going on jobs more and more lately." Droy commented.

"Yeah." Jet nodded. "It's been a while since we've been on one ourselves."

"Well we're going to head to the library now, Mira." Levy said.

"Alright, but I should warn you. It may be a bit of a mess."

"Why is that?"

"Natsu and Happy went in a little while ago. I think they're still down there."

All three members of Shadowgear were reasonably shocked by this information.

"Natsu and Happy went in the library?" Droy repeated.

"Since when do they read books?" Jet added in confusion.

"Maybe they're looking for a book on dragons or something."

"Or a cookbook."

"I think that would be more your thing." Jet looked down at Droy's gut.

"Shut it, jerk."

Levy offered no opinion, but she was just as surprised as her teammates. She hadn't seen Natsu so much as a look at book since they were kids, let alone read one. Even in their younger days when he had a book it was because Erza forced him to read it.

Levy quelled her astonishment. It's not like he could have made more of a mess than she did on a regular basis…or so she hoped. She never put it past Natsu or his team – with the exceptions of Lucy, Wendy, and Carla – to make a mess of things.

"Are you still heading down there?"

Mirajane's question brought Levy out of her head and back into reality. "Yes." She nodded.

"I'll see you in a little while then. Have fun." The barmaid's smile was returned by Shadowgear and they parted ways.

The trio soon approached the library door, Jet stepping in front of Levy to open it for her.

"Thank you."

"Don't mention it."

Droy fumed at his friend/rival's tactic as he entered behind Levy.

"I'm still surprised Natsu came down here." Jet said.

"Yeah." Droy agreed. "Hopefully the place is still in one piece."

"Don't be like that guys." Levy chided. "It's not like the library's only for us. Everyone belongs in here. Besides, it's not like Natsu will make a bigger mess than we normally-"Levy turned to look over the library balcony and her eyes widened in shock.

There were books everywhere. Some on the floor, others recklessly placed upon the table, and some were even lying on the shelves with no regards for organization or care whatsoever. It was like an earthquake had shook the entire room after a tornado had blown through.

Levy's face went white from the shock. She had spent hours – days even – meticulously organizing and categorizing each book so that they would easy to find when the guild was rebuilt. She also painstakingly added new books to the library that had been brought to the the guild over time. She created the entire system in which the library was organized, and now it was completely destroyed. All because of a reckless dragon slayer and his cat.

She didn't know which way was up or down. She had no concept of left or right. The vertigo extended to her shaking knees and she dropped the books she was holding onto the wooden balcony with an audible thud before finally falling to her knees.

"Levy!" Jet and Droy were at her side in an instant. They tried to snap her out of her trance, but it was no use. She was no longer in the same realm as them.

"Levy? Levy?! Snap out of it!" Jet snapped his fingers in her face, but Levy didn't respond to him. Instead she only muttered to herself.

"The books…the library…it's…it's…"

Droy looked out over the balcony at the devastation before them. "What the hell happened?!"

As Droy's words echoed in the room, a shuffling was heard from a pile of books next to the table. Jet and Droy watched to the shuddering mass, while Levy continued to mumble incoherently to herself.

"What's that?" Droy pointed.

"I don't know."

From the pile of books emerged Natsu and Happy. The former standing up while the latter sat on top of the pile. Natsu wiped the dust from his vest and pants before rotating his stiff shoulders. "You find the book?"

Happy shook his head. "Nope. I didn't see it."

Natsu whined. "This sucks. I was hoping it would be here."

"It would help if we knew the name of the book."

"Yeah. You're right."

"Natsu!"

Natsu and Happy looked up to the balcony and saw Team Shadowgear. Ignorant of the distress on their faces, Natsu smiled wide and greeted them.

"Hey, guys. What's up?"

"Don't 'what's up' us, you jerk!" Jet retorted.

"Did you make this mess?!" Droy interrogated.

Natsu and Happy looked around the library, finally taking notice of the disarray they had caused. They looked back to one another, then back at Shadowgear. Flashing sheepish grins at the trio.

"Yeah. I guess we did." Natsu admitted.

"Sorry about that." Happy added.

"Why didn't you clean it up?!" Jet and Droy shouted in unison. Natsu and Happy flinched at their tone.

"We just…forgot." Natsu stalled.

"We were going to clean it later." Happy appeased with a frown. Jet and Droy weren't having it.

"Look what you guys did to Levy." Droy directed Natsu and Happy's eyes to the comatose scribe as they walked up to the balcony.

"What happened to her?" Natsu knelt in front of Levy and examined her condition. Her eyes were completely hollow, and her mouth was moving, but Natsu couldn't understand a word she was saying. It was much too quiet. Even for his ears.

Happy waved his paw in front of her face, but she didn't respond to him either. He waved faster. "Levy? Yoo-hoo! You in there?! Wake up!" Droy grabbed the excited Exceed's arms.

"Stop that."

"Sorry." He looked back to Levy and Droy let him go. "What are we going to do?"

"We should take her to the infirmary and let her rest. Then we can focus on putting the books back where they belong." Jet glared and Natsu and Happy, who looked away in shame.

"We said sorry." Natsu pouted, pushing his fingers together.

"Yeah." Happy added.

"That's not good enough." Droy chided. "You both really screwed up this time. Levy put a lot of hard work into organizing the library, and you ruined it."

"I thought you said we were going to fix it." Happy spoke up.

"Levy had an entire system based around where each book went. Without her we can only put books back on the shelves and hope for the best. We can't do anything else until she wakes up."

Natsu looked down at the ground in shame. He had no idea how hard Levy had worked to make the library so tidy. Now it was a mess, and the only person who could properly fix it – Levy herself - was out of commission. _Crap. I didn't mean to mess things up._ He scratched his head furiously and stood up.

"Here's what we'll do. One of you take Levy to the infirmary and the rest of us will stay behind to clean up."

Jet and Droy were taken aback. Sure they were the ones that suggested this idea in the first place, but they were surprised to see Natsu had taken the initiative to get things going. They looked at one another and nodded in affirmation of the plan before looking back to Natsu and Happy.

"Ok." Jet said.

"You guys get started. I'll be right back after I make sure Levy is safe." Droy moved to stunned young woman, but stopped when Jet tightly gripped his arm. "What are you doing, dude?"

"Who said you get to take Levy?"

"I did." Droy broke away from Jet's grip and turned to face him. "Is that a problem?"

"You bet that's a problem." Jet stepped forward, pressing his forehead against Droy's. "Taking her to the infirmary was **my** idea in the first place. So **I'm** the one who's going to take her there."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah!"

Natsu and Happy watched from the sidelines.

"There they go again." Happy sighed in exhaustion. "Is now really the time for this, guys?"

"Butt out!"

As Jet and Droy continued arguing over who was better suited to carry the bookish maiden to the infirmary, Natsu stepped forth. He forced himself between the pair's heated words, scooped Levy into his arms, and proceeded to walk out of the library door.

Jet and Droy were stunned by the dragon slayer's sudden action, but in a matter of seconds their anger had reignited. Though this time it was focused on the pink haired intruder.

"Just what do you think you're doing, Natsu?" Jet demanded.

Droy added to his friend's complaints. "Yeah, who said you could touch Levy like that?"

Natsu stopped walking and looked over his shoulder, his glare sending chills down the spines of Jet and Droy. "I'll take Levy to the infirmary. You guys stay and help Happy clean up. Got it?" Natsu's words hung in the air, his tone commanding as he narrowed his eyes. The boys of Shadowgear instantly stood up straight and nodded in agreement.

"R-right."

"We'll stay here."

Natsu resumed his walk out of the door, Levy secure in his arms. "Keep an eye on them. Happy." Were his last words before leaving.

"Aye, sir!" The Exceed saluted. Happy flew to the balcony railing and puffed out his chest proudly. He then pointed out to the library. "Alright, you bums! Let's get cleaning!"

"Yeah." Jet and Droy replied morosely. First they were both upstaged by Natsu, and now they were taking orders from Happy. The situation had completely turned around on them. _How did we end up like this?_

Natsu briskly made his way to the resting room across the guild. As he expected everyone's eyes were on him and his impromptu passenger.

"Is that Levy?"

"What happened? She was fine just a minute ago."

"Why is Natsu carrying her? Where are Jet and Droy?"

"I hope she'll be ok."

"Kinana, can you take over the bar for a little while? I'm going to check on Levy."

"Sure thing, Mira."

"Thank you." The barmaid took off her apron and followed after Natsu to the Infirmary. When she walked in the door, she saw him placing the unconscious Levy on the first bed on the left side of the room. "How is she?"

Natsu didn't have to look to know that it was Mirajane that was approaching him. "She's fine. She just fainted."

"What happened? She was perfectly fine when she came in earlier. If a little exhausted."

"It's my fault." Natsu sighed, scratching the back of his head in his frustration. "Happy and I were looking for a book in the library and we made a huge mess. Then when Levy and the others came in, she fainted from the sight."

Mirajane looked back to Levy. She was relieved that her condition was nothing too serious. "She worked really hard to organize the library, Natsu. I told you not to make too much of a mess." Mirajane's tone was a bit harsher than she would have liked, but she couldn't let Natsu off easy – no matter her feelings.

The dragon slayer shoulder's drooped at the barmaid's scolding. "I know. I just got a little carried away."

Mirajane sighed. "That's always the case with you. You have to take it easy once in a while, Natsu. Otherwise things like this will happen. I know you mean well, but you can't be so reckless all the time."

Natsu felt even lower. He knew Mirajane was right. It was times like this when he realized just how similar she and Erza were in that regard. In this situation the redhead would have assaulted him, **then** scold him for what he did wrong. Mirajane was different yet still the same. She wouldn't hit Natsu, but the motherly tone she would use didn't make him feel any better.

"You're right. I'm sorry."

"I'm not the one you should be apologizing to."

Natsu looked back to Levy, internally cursing himself for harming a friend and guildmate. Mirajane – noticing his regretful state - placed her hand on his shoulder.

"You can apologize later. You still have a mess to clean up, right?"

Natsu nodded. "Yeah."

"Then go. I'll stay here until she wakes up."

Natsu placed his hand on top of Mirajane's. He didn't see, but the contact make her cheeks redden just a little. "Thanks, Mira."

"You're welcome." Her face steadily grew redder the longer they touched. His hands were so warm. When Natsu let up on his grip she wanted to protest, but she managed to keep herself in control for the moment.

Natsu exited the infirmary and Mirajane placed a chair next to Levy's bed. When the door closed behind him, Mirajane let out a long sigh, her cheeks returning to their normal color.

"You have to get ahold of yourself, Mirajane." She told herself. "Just be patient." She looked back to the sleeping Levy and let out another sigh. This one of exhaustion.

* * *

Levy's eyelids twitched before opening to the blinding light from the lamp above. The sudden blast of light stung her eyes, but her vision soon cleared after she blinked a few times. "What happened?" she muttered.

"You're awake. I'm so glad."

Levy turned her head, her now fully opened eyes falling onto the sight of a smiling barmaid. "Mira? Where am I?" Her voices was raspy from the lack of liquid in her system.

"The infirmary. You had me worried there for a minute."

"The infirmary?" Levy rose from the bed, prompting Mira to steady her ascent.

She placed her hands on the scribe's shoulders. "Don't sit up too fast. You're still a bit weak."

Levy looked out of the window to her left. The sun was beginning to set. "What time is it?"

"Almost six-thirty. You were sleeping for quite a long time."

Levy felt a dull pain and placed her palm on her forehead. "Ow."

"Are you ok?"

"My head hurts."

Mirajane reached for the glass of water on the nightstand next to the bed and handed it to Levy. "Here. Drink this. It should help with your headache."

"Thank you." Levy took the glass and sipped from it. The cooling liquid flowed down her throat and spread its cooling effect throughout her body, including her head. The pain was still there, but it was beginning to subside. "What happened? How did I get here?"

"Natsu brought you. He said that you fainted when you went into the library this morning."

"The library?" As Levy mulled over this information, her eyes went wide in realization. "I remember now. I was going to return the books Master Makarov gave me with Jet and Droy. When we walked into the library…" When she thought of the mess she encountered inside, she wanted to faint again. Luckily she was much better equipped to deal with it the second time around. "Did Natsu make that mess?"

Mirajane heaved a heavy sigh. "Unfortunately, yes. He did. He and Happy were searching for a book and they got 'carried away'. His words. I told him to not make a mess, but you know Natsu. He just does what he wants to in the end."

"Oh." Was all Levy could muster as she took another sip of water. She was furious with Natsu and Happy for running all of her hard work, but…she couldn't bring herself to show it externally.

Mirajane on the other hand could tell Levy's less than pleasant mood from the tinge of red in her normally hazel eyes, as well as the audible slurping sound emanating from her glass of water. She knew the petite wizard had every right to be angry, but Mirajane just couldn't help coming to Natsu's aid once again.

"Natsu and Happy are cleaning the library along with Jet and Droy. If you're feeling up to it you can go see them. I know it may not mean much but…"

"It's ok, Mira. I can handle it." Levy smiled and got up from the infirmary bed. After making sure everything was in order, she bowed to Mirajane. "Thank you for looking after me, Mira."

"Don't mention it." The barmaid smiled. "Just don't overdo it, ok?"

"I won't." Levy returned her smile and walked out of the door.

"I hope Natsu and Happy will be ok."

* * *

Levy approached the library with the full intent of giving Natsu and Happy a piece of her mind, or at least she wanted to. Her fists were balled up, and her brow was furrowed in preparation for the tongue-lashing the unruly pair would receive, but she just couldn't bring herself to keep up that face when she arrived at the door.

Levy was never really good with confrontations whether they physical or verbal. She tried to avoid them whenever necessary. Even when Jet and Droy would argue over her she would just tune them out. To her, fighting was something that she saw no benefit in. It made people unhappy, and that was something to avoid at all costs. She fought when she had to. She fought when the guild was at stake, but always remained indecisive when it came to personal matters.

When she entered the library she was surprise by how different it looked. The books were back on the shelves – minus a few that were still on the table – and she could see the floor again.

"Levy! You're awake!"

The wavy-haired girl looked to the balcony steps, her eyes widening at the sight of Jet and Droy running to meet her – Jet having the obvious advantage because of his speed magic…and Droy's weight. The two elated Shadowgear members nearly collided with their recovered leader, but luckily for Levy they stopped just short of her. Both of them with wide smiles.

"When did you wake up?" Jet asked.

"A few minutes ago."

"You feeling any better?" Droy inquired soon after.

"I'm still a bit woozy, but I'm fine." She stepped past the boys and looked out to the restored library. "Did you guys fix all of this?"

"Yep." Jet nodded proudly. "We did all of this while you were resting."

"How does it look?" Droy prompted, hoping to receive some praise.

"It looks…" completely wrong was what Levy wanted to say. She could tell that from the balcony that nearly all of the books were in the wrong sections. It's not like she could physically see all of the books, but something in her stomach was churning at the sight. It just felt wrong.

It was obvious that neither Jet nor Droy knew the system, but she couldn't blame them. The only ones who knew how the system worked were herself, Master Makarov, and Lucy. Even so, Levy smiled at her teammates' work. "Great. You guys did a good job."

Both boys smiled goofily at their leader. Their hearts pumping from her praise. "It wasn't a problem." They said in unison.

"What are you guys doing?! We're not done yet!"

"Aye! We still have a lot of books to put back!"

Levy looked over the balcony and saw Natsu and Happy holding stacks of books in their arms. Levy locked eyes with the dragon slayer for a brief moment before he turned his head away and looked to the wall. Levy felt her irritation building again.

"Natsu really wants to get this done."

"I don't blame him. It's his fault it happened anyway."

"Yeah, but he looks really sorry about it. Maybe we were too hard on him and Happy."

"They **did** put back almost all of the books themselves."

Levy felt her frustration fade away once again. When she looked to Natsu for that quick moment, he did genuinely seem guilty for the trouble he had caused, as did Happy. Even if everything was out of place, it was the thought that truly counted. Levy's shoulder's dropped at this revelation. Jet and Droy took quick noticed of this.

"Are you ok, Levy?"

"Do you still feel weak? Maybe you should go back to the infirmary."

Levy looked to her friends and shook her head. "No, I'm fine. Really. We should help them finish putting up the books." Levy walked down the stairs, leaving behind a confused Jet and Droy. Realizing that she was right, they quickly followed after her.

After the sun finished setting and the moon had returned to its home in the night sky, the group of wizards stood back and looked at the restocked bookshelves. Admiring their hard work, they each breathed a sigh of relief.

"We're finally done." Jet strained as he stretched his arms overhead. "That didn't take as long as I thought it would."

"Well there were five of us." Droy reminded his friend. "So it makes sense that it would take less time to get done."

"Yeah. You're right."

Natsu looked over to Levy, and was struck curious by the perplexed look on her face.

"We should head home." Droy suggested. "The guild's most likely about the close."

"Yeah." Jet looked over to Levy. "Ready to go, Levy?"

"You guys go on ahead." She smiled. "I have some things I need to do before leaving."

"We'll stay behind and help."

"No that's ok. You guys don't have to."

"It's no problem." Droy reassured. "We can-"

"I can handle it, guys." Levy said with an earnest tone that caught the pair off-guard. She turned to them and smiled. "Really. I'm fine. You guys head home. I'll see you tomorrow." It almost sounded like Levy was commanding them to leave.

"A-alright." Jet slowly nodded, his eyes still widened slightly. "Let's go, Droy."

"See you tomorrow, Levy."

"Goodnight." She waved. When Jet and Droy ascended the stairs she grabbed a few books from the table and walked up the ladder, placing them in the hole she saw.

Natsu watched her for a little while longer before Happy tugged on his sleeve.

"Let's go, Natsu." He yawned, rubbing his eyes. "I'm tired."

Natsu looked at his friend and smiled. "Sorry, buddy. Let's go home."

Happy nodded and used the last of his energy to fly up to Natsu's shoulder. As soon as he landed he went to sleep. Natsu gave Levy – who was still on the ladder – one last look before walking up the stairs.

Levy watched Natsu, her hands firmly grasping one of the books from the shelf. When the door closed behind him and Happy, she waved her finger in the air.

**_SOLID SCRIPT: PILLOW_**

Big white letters spelling the word PILLOW appeared briefly next to Levy before falling to the ground. She dropped the book in her hand to the letters, it landing softly on the I. She then looked around at the other books on the shelves.

"This may take a while."

* * *

Natsu stared a hole into his ceiling as he laid in his hammock. He hadn't been able to sleep since coming home. Levy staying behind in the library was still bugging him. Normally he would shrug it off, but this felt different somehow. He assumed she left soon after he did, but something felt weird. He needed to investigate it. He stepped out of his hammock and put on his clothes. After wrapping his scarf around his neck he looked to Happy, who was sleeping like a baby in his own hammock.

"Sorry, buddy. I'll see you in a few hours."

Natsu quietly exited his home and made his way into town. As expected, not many people were out at this hour. After saying hi to a few of the townspeople that still on the streets, Natsu came upon the Fairy Tail guild hall. Making sure no one else was around, Natsu moved to the side of the building and dug through the dirt to find a small wooden door. He opened it, revealing a tunnel that lead into the guild hall. He crawled through it, ending up on the guild stage behind the curtain. Natsu rose out of the tunnel, closing the door behind himself.

"I can't believe that this is still there even after we rebuilt."

Natsu and Gray had built the tunnel years ago in an attempt to hide from one of the Master's punishments. It was also a useful place to hide when Erza came looking for them. Natsu hadn't used it in years, but he counted himself lucky that it had yet to be sealed off. He hated to think what would have happened is he forced his way through the front door.

He poked his head through the stage curtain, looking left and right in search of life. When he saw that the hall was completely empty he stepped onto the front of the stage and saw a light coming from the open library door.

"I knew something was weird."

When Natsu arrived in the room, he was surprised to see not just some, but all of the books off of the shelves and on the floor. Each of them in various – yet still neat – stacks.

"Natsu? What are you doing here?"

The dragon slayer looked over the balcony, and saw Levy amidst all off the chaos. She looked up at him with confusion. Natsu on the other hand grinned in satisfaction. "I thought something was a little weird, but I didn't expect to see you in here, Levy." He looked over the books once more. "Did you do all of this?"

Levy pushed up her glasses with the bottom of her palm. "I did." She giggled lightly. "I guess I can't get mad at you for messing it up now."

"Why did you do all of this?"

"I'm reorganizing."

Natsu descended the stairs, still in awe at all of the books around him. How did someone Levy's size manage to get all of this done? Though to her credit she did look tired. "We fixed the books together already."

"Yeah we did but…it was out of order."

Natsu raised an eyebrow and Levy immediately backpedaled.

"Don't get me wrong. I appreciate you guys working so hard! I really do! It's just…I had everything set perfectly and it would be a shame to lose that."

"I understand what you mean." Natsu grabbed the top book on the stack behind him. "Let me help you fix it. Properly this time."

"Oh no. You don't have to do that. You've already done more than you needed to."

"Come on, Levy, let me help. I messed it up in the first place, the least I can do is help put it back where it was."

Levy thought of this offer for a moment. Sure it was Natsu's fault that she had to reorganize in the first place, but she felt bad about making him help out twice in one day. "Are you sure you want to help? This may take us all night."

"Positive." Natsu nodded with a toothy grin. "I owe it to you to make things right."

Levy finally let a grin pull at her lips. "Ok. You win. You can help."

"Thanks. You won't regret it." Natsu moved to put the book in his hand on the shelf nearest to him.

"Wait!"

Natsu stopped just short of placing the book on the shelf. "What? What is it?"

"That's a fantasy book. It doesn't go there. That shelf is for reference books."

"Oh sorry." Natsu moved to the next shelf over.

"That's the romance section."

Natsu moved over again.

"That's historical non-fiction."

Natsu threw up his hands in a huff. "Fine. Where does it go then?"

"The third highest shelf on the second closest bookshelf to the stairs." Levy pointed.

Natsu looked over to the shelf for a few seconds before placing the book back on the stack he got it from. "I'll do that one last."

Levy looked to him and giggled. She grabbed a light pen out of her pack and waved Natsu over to the table. "I'll show you the system."

"That would help." Natsu smirked and carefully moved to Levy's side, making sure not to knock over any of the stacks of books.

Levy wrote in the air with her light pen, explaining to Natsu the organization of the books in the library. It was surprisingly complicated. All of the books were organized by genre, sub-genre, year, author, and finally size. Memorizing all of this information was proving very difficult for the salmon-haired dragon slayer, but he tried his best to keep up.

"Are you alright, Natsu?" Levy could practically see the smoke rising from his ears. "Do you need me to explain it again?"

Natsu – knowing another explanation would make his already fragile brain explode – tightly shook his head and loosed a smile that was much more nervous than reassuring. "I got it. Where do we start?"

Though skeptical of the limits of his comprehension of her explanation, Levy decided to let him pass. If only so she could get this done and go home. "We can start with the action adventure books. They should be in that pile over there."

Natsu walked to where Levy directed and she followed behind. When they reached the books, Natsu craned his neck upward. The stack was at least a good five centimeters taller than him. "Is this it?"

"It is. Let's get started."

"Right." Natsu grabbed the top five books and handed them to Levy. "Here you go."

"Thank you."

Natsu grabbed a few books of his own and looked to the ladder. "So how are we going to do this?"

"If you climb the ladder, I can hand the books to you as we go along."

"How are you going to do that?"

"With my magic." Levy smiled simply. She held out her palm.

**_SOLID SCRIPT: CLOUD_**

In a puff of smoke fluffy white letters spelling the word CLOUD appeared next to Levy. She placed the books in her hand on top of the word, and they stayed in place.

Natsu's eyes went wide with wonder as he placed his own books on the cloud. "That is so cool! I didn't know you could do that, Levy!"

She blushed and looked away. "It's really not that special."

Natsu climbing the ladder, Levy's cloud of books floating at his side the higher he got. It was a bit weird to see, but he quickly got used to it after praising how awesome it was.

"How high do I go?"

"Just a little bit farther."

Natsu stopped at the top shelf and looked down to Levy. "Here?!"

"Yeah! That's perfect! I'll send more books to you!"

"Ok!" Natsu grabbed the books on the cloud and began ordering them in the correct sequence that Levy instructed. Before he finished another cloud floated up to him with another stack of books. As Natsu emptied each cloud, more replaced them. Each holding at least ten books. Natsu diligently placed the books on the shelf, making sure all of them were to Levy's specifications. After about an hour or so, Natsu noticed that the clouds stopped coming.

"Is that all?!"

"Yep! That's it for action/adventure! Next is fantasy!"

"Alright!" Natsu moved down the ladder and waited for the next batch of clouds. When they arrived he began to place them on the shelves. "Hey, Levy."

"Yes?"

"Why didn't you put the books away? It seems like this would go a lot faster if you were doing this instead of me."

Levy's cheeks slowly turned red. "I…I can't…"

"Why not?" Natsu moved down the ladder some more. "You know where the books go. So you being up here makes much more sense than me. I could just load up the clouds for you."

"I said I can't." Her blush deepened.

"Why not?"

"...I'm wearing a dress…" she mumbled.

Natsu leaned his ear towards her. "What? I didn't hear that."

"I'm wearing a dress!"

Levy's embarrassment proved to be contagious, as Natsu's cheeks also turned red as soon as her words hit his ears.

Natsu tried to keep pure thoughts, but his natural male instincts couldn't help but allow him to imagine what kind of panties Levy would wear. Would they be risqué like Lucy and Cana's? Or would they be more on the frilly side like Erza's? Based on her frame and demeanor, the latter was the most likely possibility. Natsu's eyes widened and his face began to burn crimson at another option. _What if she's not wearing anything at all?!_

Levy could see Natsu's wide-eyed gaze from the floor. She had seen that look on Jet and Droy's faces before. As well as the Master's and various other guys in the guild when they were thinking of something they shouldn't.

She glared at the dragon slayer, her cheeks still red as she pulled the bottom of her dress down as much as she could. "What are you thinking about up there?"

Natsu snapped out of his perverted state of mind and returned to the task at hand. "I was just thinking about how much faster we'll get done if I do this."

Levy knew Natsu was lying, but chose to let him off the hook since he dropped the subject. She slowly released the hem of her dress, but her wary glare was still aimed at the dragon slayer's back.

"All finished." Natsu looked down to Levy. "What's next?"

"Magical-fiction."

They continued their work as the night wore on, keeping conversation to a minimum. This wasn't out of spite or dislike. They just had no idea what to say to one another. In fact this was the longest amount of time that Natsu and Levy had been in one another's company. It was an awkward experience for the both of them.

"How about we take a break?" Levy suggested.

"You sure?"

"It's not like we're in a rush or anything." Levy looked at her watch. It was close to 4 A.M. "We still have a few hours before the sun rises."

"Ok, I'm coming down." Natsu grabbed the sides of the ladder and slid down to the ground. Levy was worried at first, but he managed to land on his feet without incident. When he approached her she handed him a bottle of water.

"I got them from the kitchen earlier."

"Thanks." Natsu took the bottle and began drinking from it.

"So, why were you in the library? I didn't know you read." The question had been nagging at Levy all day, and she thought that now was a better time than any to ask.

"I don't. Happy and I were looking for a book."

"It's a book on ancient magic."

"What kind of ancient magic?"

Natsu took another sip of water. "Doesn't really matter now. We couldn't find it in here."

Levy thought of Natsu's dilemma. "The Magic Library may have what you're looking for. They have an entire floor with nothing but ancient magic tomes."

Natsu raised an eyebrow at the ocean-haired wizard. "The 'Magic Library'?"

"Mhm. It has just about every book on magic known to man. If we don't have the book here, then surely the Magic Library has it."

Natsu's eyes went wide as he smiled. His spirits had been renewed. "Alright! Then we're going to the Magic Library!"

Levy was confused. "We?"

"Yeah. I don't know where the library is, so I need a guide."

"Oh. Well…I guess I could take you there if you really need to go." Levy was more than a little uneasy about this prospect. If he had messed the guild's library up this much, then there was no telling how bad Natsu could wreck the largest library in the country. The very thought was making her queasy.

"Awesome!" Natsu smiled. "We can head there tomorrow!"

"Tomorrow?!"

"Yeah. I want to try and get there before anyone else does. Are you busy that day?"

"No, but…"

"Great! Then tomorrow it is!" Natsu finished his water, stood up, and stretched his arms overhead with a smile. "I feel much better now. Let's hurry up and finish putting away the rest of the books."

"Alright." Levy stood up as well, watching as Natsu practically raced up the ladder to the next section that needed filling. She was honestly surprised at how much energy he still had. She was fighting to keep her own eyes open, but Natsu was practically bouncing off of the walls. She wondered if there was something extra in the water.

"Ready!" he shouted.

"Here they come!" Levy loaded the next batch of books onto clouds and sent them floating up to Natsu. She sighed, thinking of the long day she no doubt had ahead of her tomorrow. This won't be too bad...I hope.

"Heads up!"

Levy looked up and quickly sidestepped, narrowly avoiding a book falling onto her head. She looked back up to Natsu, who smiled as he rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Sorry about that. You ok?"

Levy nodded. "I'm fine. Please be more careful."

Natsu gave her a thumbs up. "Gotcha!" He reached for another book, but this one slipped out of his hands as well and fall to the floor. "Oops. Sorry. That's the last time. I swear."

Levy sighed in exhaustion. _On second thought, maybe I should be worried._

* * *

**_I can't believe it's been a month since I updated this story. Hopefully this long chapter was worth the wait for all of you, and you don't hate me too much for being absent._**

**_Just like Juvia this one will be a little challenging since Levy has a (somewhat) canon interest in Gajeel. Don't worry, I will shine some light on him in this but I also have a bit of work cut out for me since I essentially have to build something from nothing with Natsu and Levy._**

**_Whereas Natsu and Juvia have somewhat limited interactions in the manga at various points. Natsu and Levy has spoken maybe a grand total of three times, and that was mostly in the Fantasia arc. There is really nothing connecting them to one another, so it will be a good challenge to build that relationship. I've done this before in my story "Toasted Pages" (check it out) so it's not it's impossible, just difficult._**

**_Hopefully the next chapter won't take another month._**

**_As always thanks for reading, thanks for voting, and leave a review letting me know what you all think! :) _**


	13. Script of the Priestess II

The warm air tickled the point of her nose, and Levy McGarden could not fight the smile tugging at her lips.

It was a beautiful day. The sun was beginning to rise in the distance; the breeze danced gracefully through the grass and trees; and the birds sang their songs high in the skies. The scene was too perfect for words.

Levy sat up, moving loose strands of her cerulean hair behind her ear. Her eyes focused on the rising sun.

"It's been forever since I've watched the sunrise." She mused.

Letting nature once again consume her senses, a curious butterfly entered Levy's peripheral. Captivated by the wandering insect, Levy slowly held out her hand and was elated when the majestic bug landed on her fingernail. It was as if it waited on her to reach out to it.

She slowly moved her hand in front of her and stared at the butterfly, being extra careful not to make any sudden movements to scare it off. Its luminous pink and red wings slowly moved up and down as it settled itself. It didn't look like it would be taking off anytime soon.

The sun was now breaking through the forest canopy, but Levy was too focused on the creature on her fingertip to notice the star's ascent.

"So pretty." She marveled. The pink markings on the butterfly's wings beautifully flowed into the red ones. It was like looking a field of cherry blossoms slowly darkening into rose petals. Levy had read a few books on butterflies before, but she had never encountered one with wings like this. It was rare sight indeed.

"Maybe it's a new species."

Just then the butterfly flapped its wings and pushed off of Levy's finger. It flew farther and father away, prompting a small frown from Levy.

"Don't go." She reached out.

She watched as the butterfly fluttered towards the sun, the warm rays growing brighter and brighter until all Levy saw was white.

* * *

Levy's nose twitched with the sharp scent of cinnamon. A low moan escaping her lips, she turned to the other side of her pillow and slowly opened her eyes.

When her vision cleared, the face of a certain dragon slayer laid peacefully before her. His pink hair lazily hiding some his features, Natsu's steady breaths all but assured that he was still sleeping. Once more Levy realized that the "pillow" she was comfortably resting on was actually Natsu's arm.

Her face slowly turning red, she shot up and scooted away from Natsu as fast she could. Her back hitting something somewhat solid, Levy looked up to the swaying and rocking of a stack of books.

"Uh oh." Levy covered her head as a few of the books fell from atop the stack. When it was over she breathed a sigh of relief. Luckily none of the books managed to hit her."That was close."

"What happened?" Natsu – prematurely awoken by the falling tomes - looked around with reddened eyes.

"G-Good morning." Levy nervously greeted.

"Levy?" Natsu yawned, his eyes finally finding the petite script wizard. "Morning." He stretched his arms overhead to get out the lingering fatigue. For some reason his right arm was feeling numb. "What was that noise?" he asked.

"That was me. I knocked over a stack of books. I'm sorry for disturbing you. You can go back to sleep if you want."

"It's fine." Natsu yawned again. "It was time to get up anyway." He looked around and tried to remember what had happened the previous night. "Did we stay here all night?"

"Looks like it."

Natsu groaned about not finishing the job before falling asleep, but relaxed some upon noticing that the stack of books Levy knocked over was the last.

He stood up, patted himself off and walked to the still seated Levy. He held his hand down to her. "Let's finish up."

"Right." Levy reached for Natsu's hand, but shirked back at the last second. Her mind thought back to their sleeping arrangements. _Were we like that all night?_ Her cheeks flushed red again.

"Levy? You alright?" Natsu asked.

"Y-yes! I'm fine!" she rose to her feet on her own, unwittingly ignoring Natsu's offering hand. "Let's hurry and get this done." She gave an uncomfortable smile and quickly set about recovering some of the books she knocked over.

Shrugging his shoulders indifferently, Natsu followed Levy's lead.

After about thirty minutes or so, the pair finally finished what they had set out to do the previous day. The library was just as Natsu had found it, albeit with a few new additions of books that Levy had newly translated.

Satisfied with their work, Natsu placed his hands on his hips and stuck out his chest. "There. All done. We make a pretty good team." He held up his hand, his smiling face practically begging Levy to hit it.

"Yeah." Levy nodded and timidly gave Natsu a high-five. "I'm surprised we finished it in a little over a night." She bowed to Natsu. "Thank you for helping me."

The dragon slayer was surprised at her sudden formality. "I-it wasn't a problem." He looked away from her, scratching his cheek with his index finger. "I messed it up in the first place. So it only makes sense that I help put it back the way it was."

Levy returned upright and her smile grew just a bit wider. Natsu looked to her briefly, before quickly cutting his eyes away again.

"A-anyway. Let's head to the Magic Library now."

"What? You mean right now?"

"Yeah. You said we could go when we finished here." Natsu began to frown. "Don't tell me you're backing out…"

"I'm not. It's just…" Levy looked Natsu up and down. His clothes were more than a little wrinkled and dusty. As were hers. Their collected smells didn't help either – though Natsu's was much stronger than Levy's. "Don't you think we should take baths first? We've been down here all night."

"Oh yeah." Natsu realized. "That's probably a good idea. I kind of reek." He laughed. "Ok, first we'll taken baths and **then** we'll go the library."

Levy agreed to this with a nod. "I'll meet you at the train station in two hours."

Natsu felt all of his energy evaporate at the mention of his wheeled nemesis. "Do we have to take the train?"

"Well the library is north of Oshibana. Near the Waas Forest. So the quickest way would be to take the train Oshibana and walk from there…" Levy explained. She then looked to Natsu's sorrowful expression and began to think. "But with your motion sickness I guess that wouldn't be such a good idea, would it? Then I guess we can walk the entire way if you-"

"No, it's fine." Natsu interrupted. "We can take…" he took a big gulp, mustering all of the strength he could. "The train."

"Are you sure? I really don't mind walking."

Natsu nodded. "Yeah I'm sure. I'm already making you go out of your way to take me to the place. I shouldn't be so picky."

Levy knew that Natsu was forcing himself for her sake, and it sort of made her feel bad, but at the same time she was kind of happy. She knew she couldn't win an argument with him, so she put on a smile.

"Then the train we shall take." she giggled.

"Yay~." Natsu lethargically cheered.

* * *

Natsu stood outside of the train station, a sour look on his face as he impatiently tapped his foot on the ground. Eager to get this hellish ride over with, he and Happy arrived at the station an hour early. He watched the people – both visitors and residents alike – happily converse as they entered and exited the station. His sour expression worsened the longer he looked at them.

"What are they smiling about?" he grumbled. "There's nothing great about having to ride these damn things."

"I think I see Levy." Happy spoke up.

"Sorry we're late." The scibe waved to the pair with an apologetic smile as she approached. Jet and Droy flanked her on either side.

"You brought them along too?" Natsu asked Levy, pointing to the young men in back.

"What do you mean 'brought us along'?" Jet repeated in offense.

"The three of us are a team." Droy reminded the dragon slayer. "Of course we're coming. Who knows what kind of trouble she would get into by going with you two alone?"

"They insisted." Levy smiled. "There was nothing I could do about it."

Natsu gave an apathetic shrug. "The more people that know where the place is the better. So I guess it doesn't really matter in the end."

"We should get on the train before it leaves without us." Levy said. She walked past Natsu and Happy – Jet and Droy close behind – and made her way to train.

Natsu tried to play cool as he followed Shadowgear, but he secretly hoped that the train had left without them.

Happy noticed this and started snickering.

Natsu glared at the Exceed. "Shut it."

When the group boarded the train proper, Natsu could already feel the early stages of his motion sickness setting in. Slumping in the seat next to the window, Natsu was unaware of the look of empathy being given to him by Levy. This was why she opted not to ride the train.

_I should have been more assertive._ She thought guiltily as she looked at the sick dragon slayer. _He looks really bad_.

When she heard Jet and Droy arguing some ways back about who would sit next to her, Levy sighed in exasperation. She chose to act like she didn't hear them and sat down. That was her normal routine anyway. Jet and Droy's bickering grew louder.

"You got to sit next to Levy last time!" Jet argued.

"So what? Your snoring bothers her." Droy retorted.

"I don't snore!"

"Yes you do!"

"Well let's let Levy decided who she wants to sit next to."

"Fine!"

Both of them came around the corner like bats out of hell. "Levy! Which one of us do you want to-"When they reached their seats they were shocked to see that Levy had already sat down…next to Natsu! They were speechless. Levy responded to their shock with a sweet smile.

"You two should hurry and sit down. The train will be leaving any minute." She said.

Their mouths still wide from surprise, Jet and Droy sat across from the pair.

"Rejected." Happy muttered beside them with a sly smirk.

"You be quiet, cat!" they shouted.

The whistle sounded and the train began rolling. With each bump of the wheels along the tracks, Natsu felt his stomach getting worse. In his delirium, he fell over, his head finding cushion in an unsuspecting Levy's lap.

This rightfully shocked the petite wizard.

His hair tickled her thighs. His cheeks were also really warm. She didn't know if was because he was sick, or because of his dragon slayer magic. Either way she was more than a little unnerved. "N-Natsu…" she shakily called. "Could you…get off me please?" Her pleas were drowned out by Natsu's groaning.

"Five more minutes…" he whined. He was obviously hallucinating about sleeping.

Levy sighed in defeat, her cheeks more than little red. "O-ok. You can stay there…if you want." she reluctantly accepted.

Jet and Droy were furious. They both glared at Natsu. The flames of hate in their eyes would have burned even a dragon slayer.

_That bastard!_ They internally cursed. _He's trying to pull a fast one on Levy!_

Happy snickered at their jealously. "Double rejection."

"We told you to shut it, cat!"

Levy placed her hands at her sides, trying her best to keep her rapidly increasing anxiety in check. "One hour." She muttered to herself. "It's only one hour to Oshibana. I just have to endure this until then."

Natsu continued to moan and groan as his stomach rumbled.

"Please don't throw up on me."

* * *

"Give me another, Mira." Cana irritably requested, holding out her empty mug.

"Coming right up." The barmaid filled up the fortuneteller's cup and handed it back to her.

"Thanks." Cana raised the mug in toast to herself before taking a long sip. "I still can't smell anything."

"Still down about the job?"

"I should have taken Natsu instead." Cana groaned. "We would have gotten it done." She turned her head, glaring at a still sulking Macao and Wakaba. "I don't know how they let those three bozos get away."

"Don't be too hard on them." Mirajane said. "They tried their best didn't they?"

Cana took another sip. "If that's their best then I think it's time they hang it up."

"Straightforward as ever." Mirajane giggled.

"We're back." Gray entered the guild with his team at his side. Welcomed by their guild mates, they made their way to the bar to a waiting Mirajane.

"Welcome back." She smiled. "How was the job?"

"It was actually pretty easy. We got done way quicker than I thought we would." Gray reported.

"Oh, well that's a good thing." Mirajane smiled.

"It was mostly because of Juvia." Lucy praised. "She was amazing. We didn't even do that much in the way of property damage. So we kept a good chunk of the reward money as well."

"Yeah. We should take Natsu out and put her in."

"That's not a very nice joke, Gray." Mirajane tittered.

"What joke?"

The rain woman blushed at the compliments. "Thank you, but I didn't do anymore than you all."

"That's not true." Wendy defended.

"Yes, you are being much too modest." Carla said. "Not only were you the one who found the dark guild's hideout, but you also recovered all of the stolen merchandise. Without you who knows how long it would have taken us to complete that job."

Gray smirked. "You did good."

"You really are giving me too much praise." Juvia looked away from her friends with reddened cheeks, bashfully twisting the point of her toes into the wood floor. "I was only able to do so well because you were with me, Gray."

Gray looked away, a hint of red on his cheeks as well. "There you go saying weird stuff again."

"Aw, looks like someone's embarrassed." Lucy teased.

"I am not. Mind your own business."

Wendy briefly laughed at Gray's embarrassment before looking around the guild hall. Someone was missing. "Where's Natsu?"

Juvia's ears perked up at the dragon slayer's name.

Carla joined Wendy in her search. "I thought it was much too quiet around here. Happy is gone as well."

"They left with Team Shadowgear just a little while ago." Mirajane answered.

"Where did they go?" Lucy asked.

"The Magic Library."

"The Magic Library?" Carla repeated in confusion.

"Yeah." Cana spoke up from further down the bar. "Natsu said something about finding a book that wasn't here in the guild. By the look on his face it was really important that he get it"

Lucy and the others were stunned by this revelation.

"Natsu looking for a book?" the blonde questioned. Part of her was hoping that this was a joke. Another part of her was actually glad he was trying to read something.

"The world has truly gone mad." Carla said.

"I bet it's a book on food." Gray huffed with a grin.

"Do you know when they'll be back?" Wendy asked.

Mirajane placed her finger on her chin, looking up to the ceiling to think. "I'm not sure. They didn't say, but the library isn't that far from here. So I think that they will be back later on today. Possibly nighttime."

Juvia unconsciously slumped at this. On the train ride home she was eager to tell her new friend about the job. She had even brought a new piece for Natsu's memory wall - the necklace worn by the leader of the dark guild they vanquished. In fact one of the reasons that she was so quick to get the job done was so she could tell Natsu about it.

As the group looked for a seat at a nearby table, Erza burst through the door.

"I have returned!" she announced.

"Welcome back, Erza." Mirajane greeted.

"Thank you, Mira." Erza walked to the bar, looking around the guild along the way. "Where is Natsu? I brought him a souvenir." She reached into her bag, pulling out what appeared to be a wooden carving of a dragon with flames coming out its mouth. "I thought it would look nice hanging on his wall." She beamed. She seemed to be very proud of this gift.

"He and Happy went to the Magic Library with Team Shadowgear." Lucy answered.

"The Magic Library? What for?"

"Cana said there was a book he really needed to find." Gray explained. He leaned back in his chair with his fingers laced behind his head. He didn't seem to care one way or the other.

Erza turned on her heel and made her way to the door. "If he had just waited for me I could have taken him." She muttered.

"Erza, where are you going?" Mirajane asked.

"Is it not obvious? I'm going to the Magic Library. Natsu could be in trouble and-"

"Just leave it alone, Erza." Cana said. "Natsu's a big boy. He can take care of himself."

"I know that."

"Then stop babying him."

"I'm not babying him. I just…" Erza abruptly stopped walking and her cheeks began warmed up. _I want to see him._ That's what she wanted to say, but she was much too embarrassed. "I'm worried about Levy." She lied.

Cana easily saw through this lie, as did Mirajane.

"She's with her team, and Natsu is there as well." The barmaid reasoned. "They can handle something if it happens."

"Yeah. So just sit and wait until they get back. Unless there's a book you're looking for." Cana smirked.

Erza silently relented. She knew there was no way she would be able to leave with both Cana and Mirajane constantly hounding her.

She walked back to the bar and sat on a stool, resting her head on her hand. She then closed her eyes, her mouth twisted in irritation. "Mira, may I please have some cake and tea?" she asked.

Mirajane giggled at her rival's frustration. "Coming right up."

Cana took another sip of alcohol, her satisfied grin hidden by the rim of her mug. _You owe me one, Natsu._

* * *

"Natsu…" a voice called.

The dragon slayer groaned in response, digging his face further into his pillow. It was quite warm.

"Natsu." The voice called again, this time a bit more forceful.

"So soft…"

"Get up, you jerk!"

Natsu was lifted into the air by his collar. This finally managed to shake him awake. When he opened his eyes, he was looking down at Levy, who was sitting in her seat on the train; her face completely red.

"Levy?" he weakly called.

"You awake now?"

Natsu looked arounf in his confusion, seeing Jet and Droy glaring at him from both sides. They were holding onto his arms to keep him upright. "What's going on, guys?"

"Don't play dumb with us." Jet sniped.

"You know what you did." Droy added with just as much venom in his voice.

Natsu had no idea what they were talking about. He looked back to Levy for an answer. Her face was still glowing red. "Did I do something wrong?"

Levy shot up from her seat, her bangs hiding her face from the boys. "No. It's nothing. Let's just get off the train before it leaves again." She quickly gathered her things from the overhead compartment and rushed out of the train.

"Wait, hold on!" Jet called after her.

"Levy!" Droy shouted.

The pair dropped Natsu and followed their team leader out of the train.

"Ow." Natsu rubbed his sore butt and looked up to the seat to see Happy stifling a laugh.

"You're in trouble~." Happy sang.

"What did I do?" Natsu asked.

Happy didn't answer Natsu and summoned his wings, flying out of the train door.

"Wait up, Happy!" he reached out but his friend left him high and dry, his mocking laughter echoing in the train car. Natsu stood up and grabbed his things before finally exiting the train himself. "What's up with everybody?"

* * *

Natsu and Happy kept their distance as they followed behind Shadowgear. It was very awkward. Every time Natsu would attempt to talk to Levy, Jet and Droy would block her from his view like a wall. When he attempted to ask Happy why they acting this way, the Exceed would simply snicker and repeat how Natsu had gotten in trouble with Levy.

It had been over an hour since the group left Oshibana's city limits, and Natsu had seen nothing even resembling a building, much less a library.

"Are we there yet?" he whined. "My feet are starting to hurt."

"Stop complaining" Jet said.

"We're almost there." Levy informed. "It's not much farther."

The group entered the Waas forest and Happy spotted something in the distance.

"What's that?" he pointed.

"That's the library." Levy answered.

"What?!" Natsu exclaimed. "That huge place?!"

They walked down a small hill in the forest, finally stopping when they came upon the door at the base of a large tower.

Natsu craned his neck up. The tower broke through the tree canopy an into the sky. It seemed to go on forever.

Levy held out her hand and the circular door rolled open, revealing the innards of the tower. When they stepped inside Natsu and Happy's eyes widened even more. Along the walls of the tower were shelves that seemed to endlessly stretch up like the tower outside. All filled to the brim with books. There were what appeared to be walkways connecting the shelves on the higher floors. There were even some books stacked on the ground floor. Apparently the place didn't have a steady librarian.

"Welcome to the Magic Library." Levy said, holding out her arms as if she were giving a presentation.

"This is the magic library?" Happy gasped.

"I didn't even know this many books existed." Natsu marveled. "I bet they have a book on everything in here."

"Just about." Levy boasted. One would think she owned the library. "If it's a book on magic then this is place to find it."

Natsu cracked his knuckles, an eager grin cracking his face. "Let's get started. We have a lotta searching to do. Ready, Happy?"

"Aye, sir!"

The two took off.

"Wait, Natsu!" Levy shouted.

Natsu's heels screeched across the ground as he stopped himself. He turned around. "What's wrong?"

"What exactly are you looking for?" Levy asked. "You never told me."

Natsu hit his forehead with his palm. "Oh yeah." He laughed in realization. "I completely forgot. Sorry about that. I'm looking for a certain book on the Arcana."

"Arcana?" Droy repeated. He looked to Jet, who shrugged his shoulders.

"Don't look at me. I've never heard of that."

"I have." Levy spoke up. "It's an ancient form of card magic right?"

"Yeah." Natsu nodded. "As far as I know."

"Do you know the name of the book?"

"Nope."

"Then how do you expect to find it?" Jet asked with a raised eyebrow.

Natsu and Happy began rifling through the books on the floor. "I'll know it when I see it."

"Aye." The exceed nodded. "We'll just keep looking until we find it."

"That's not really a plan." Droy sighed.

"Especially if you don't know **what** you're looking for." Jet reminded.

"We'll help you." Levy volunteered. Much to the surprise of her teammates.

"We will?" they asked.

Levy nodded. "Yes we will. It would be rude to leave them alone after bringing them all the way here. The least we could do is help them find what they're looking for."

The boys looked at one another.

"I guess you're right." Jet said.

"It would be kind mean to leave them here by themselves." Droy reasoned.

"Then it's settled." Levy declared.

Natsu smiled. "Thanks. With all of us looking we should find it in no time."

Shadowgear quickly set to work, helping Natsu and Happy search for the illusive grimoire. Armed with Gale-Force reading glasses provided by Levy the five Fairy Tail wizards searched the shelves of the massive tower, each of them taking a different floor.

Thanks to the tower lacking windows, no one had any idea what time it was, but Natsu had a feeling that it was at least mid to late afternoon.

Having made his way to fifth floor, Natsu could feel his eyes getting heavy from the constant flipping of pages. He expelled a loud yawn, alerting someone to his presence.

"Natsu?"

He turned and saw Levy not too far from him.

"I didn't know you were on this floor." She said.

"Oh yeah. Sorry, I didn't think anyone else was here. I can move on to the next one if you want."

"No it's ok. We can get done much faster with the two of us. Just like in the guild library." She smiled.

Natsu returned her smile and resumed searching shelves. The silence soon set in between them, with only the sound of flipping pages filling the air between them. Natsu didn't seem to mind, but Levy was curious.

"So…why are you looking for this book?" she heard herself ask.

Natsu closed the book in his hand and put it back on the shelf. He grabbed the next book and opened it, his eyes focused on the pages as he answered Levy. "No reason really. Just looking for it for a friend."

"I see." Levy felt that Natsu wasn't being entirely truthful, but she decided it wasn't her place to pry. At least he wasn't doing anything dangerous.

"Hey, Levy?"

"Yeah?"

"Back on the train…I don't really remember what happened, but I'm sorry."

Levy's cheeks turned red when she thought back to the train. The entire way to Oshibana Natsu rested on her legs, a somewhat eerie smile on his lips. Every so often he would mutter how "warm and soft" his "pillow" was. It was more than a little uncomfortable for Levy, but she didn't really get mad at him for it. She knew he was delirious from sickness.

"It's ok. There's nothing to apologize for." she said quickly.

"Still. I feel I should say it."

"O-ok then…I accept your apology."

"Thanks." he smiled softly.

Levy looked at Natsu out of the corner of her eye. His smile wasn't a big one, but it was enough to make her eyes widen. Maybe it was the light reflecting off of him, or the fact that he had a book in his hand, but he looked much more mature than he normally did. She would even say he looked…handsome.

"Guys! I found something!"

Happy's voice pulled Levy from her thoughts. She and Natsu walked to the edge of the floor and looked up.

Happy floated a few floors above them, a book in his paws. It was somewhat worn and closed by a buckled strap.

"Nice going, buddy!" Natsu shouted.

"Yes, thanks for finding the book for us." An ominous voice said.

"Huh?" Happy looked for the source of the voice and was buffeted by a yellow gust of air.

"Happy!" Natsu shouted.

Happy dropped the book and started to fall to the ground, his wings disappearing.

"Hang on!" Natsu readied himself to jump.

"Natsu, what are you doing?" Levy fretfully asked. She watched in shock as Natsu leapt through the air. "Natsu!"

The dragon slayer reached out, catching Happy in mid-air. The ground rapidly rose up to meet them, and Natsu closed his eyes, tightly clutching Happy in his arms. "This is going to hurt." he braced himself.

"Droy, catch them!" Jet shouted from the third floor. "I'll get Levy!"

"How come you're the one getting, Levy?"

"Just do it, would ya?!" Jet sped off using his magic, leaving Droy - who was on the ground floor - to catch the rapidly falling Natsu and Happy.

_**HOLDER PLANT**_

Droy swung his arm and a stack of leaves appeared. Natsu broke through almost all of the before finally stopping in the last one just above the ground floor. His eyes swirling from the dizzying height he fell from, he managed to express a word of thanks to Droy.

"Natsu! Are you ok?!" Levy practically leapt from Jet's arms – much to his dismay – and ran to Natsu.

Natsu sat up in the leaf, still holding Happy in his arms. "Yeah. I'm fine." He looked down to his partner, who was now beginning to stir. "Happy?" he called.

"Huh? Natsu?" Happy shook the remaining cobwebs out of his head. "What happened?"

"You tell me. You said you found the book and then something hit you."

Happy's eyes widened in remembrance. "I did! I found the book! Then…" he began to shudder when the memory fully returned. "Natsu…it's horrible."

"What's horrible? What did you see? Who attacked you?"

Happy's entire face went pale with fear. "It's them...they're back…"

"Whose back?"

"Look what have here, men." A voice said.

Natsu and the others watched as three figures moved from the row of bookshelves on the ground floor and into the light. When Natsu saw them, his eyes went wide in horror.

"Not them again…"

Before the Fairy Tail wizards stood three men in pitch black unitards. The one in the middle – who Shadowgear discerned was the leader – stood triumphant while his two men, one with the brown hair and buck teeth and the other, who was rather portly, stood next to him.

"You two know these guys?" Droy asked Natsu and Happy.

The pair nodded. "Yeah." Natsu grimaced.

"They're the Butt Jiggle Gang." Happy informed. "We ran into them before when they were trying to steal gold from a freight train."

"The Butt Jiggle Gang?" Levy repeated.

"What kind of name is that?" Droy questioned.

"I see our illustrious reputation proceeds us!" the leader said, completely ignoring Shadowgear's ignorance. He and his henchman turned around, their rather sizable butts pointed at the now uncomfortable wizards.

"That's what happens when you're true scoundrels like us!" the buck-toothed lackey boasted.

"They're scared of our gaseous fury." The portly lackey chimed in.

Droy looked to the laughing trio and noticed something in the leader's arm. "They have the book!" he pointed.

"Give that back!" Jet yelled.

"Sorry. No can do." The leader declined. "We found it lying on the ground fair and square."

"I found it first!" Happy retorted.

"Finders keepers." Lackey A said.

"Yeah. No take backs." Lackey B added.

"Give it back now." Natsu demanded.

"Hey, boss, look!" Lackey A pointed.

The leader of the gang looked at Natsu and his eyes widened. "I remember you. You're that freaky fireball that beat us back on the train. I was hoping we would cross paths again. A true scoundrel never forgets his rivals."

"Rival?" Natsu repeated in bewilderment.

"We've prepared a new attack just for you. Ready, men?!"

"Ready, boss!"

The three turned around, bent over, and pressed their butts together.

"What are they doing?" Jet asked.

A yellow gas began to appear around their rumps.

_**GAS BUTT: TRIPLE ECSTACY**_

A violent wind of yellow gas expelled from their butts. Aiming straight for the wizards.

"Get down!" Natsu yelled. Everyone ducked out of the way, save for Levy. "Levy, what are doing?! Move out of the way!"

The script wizard was frozen in place. Unable to move as the detestable smelling wind came upon her.

Natsu raced to her, covering her body with his own as the torrent of air hit his back. It was strong in both smell and force and it sent them both flying through the bookshelves.

"Natsu!" Happy shouted.

"Levy!" Jet and Droy called.

"Now that we've gotten that annoyance off our butts, let's scram, men." The Leader said. "With this book in our hands we're be one step closer to being true scoundrels."

"Right, boss!"

The Butt Jiggle Gang ran out of the library door, leaving Happy, Jet, and Droy behind to deal with the aftermath of their attack.

"Smell you later!" the Leader mocked.

"Agh!" Jet grunted, pinching his nostrils closed. It did little to help the smell. The entire library was filled with the offending mist left by the Butt Jiggle Gang. "I can't feel my nose!" Jet yelled.

"I didn't know anything could smell this bad!" Droy said.

"They're getting away." Happy pointed, his eyes watering as he looked at the trio's figures fading from view.

"We have to go after them!" Jet responded. "They have the book!"

"But what about Levy and Natsu?" Droy reminded.

"I'll find them." Happy volunteered.

"Then we'll go after those smelly thieves." Jet said. He started to run out of the library. "Let's go, Droy!"

"Right!" Droy followed behind his friend. "We're counting on you, Happy!"

"Aye, sir!"

* * *

Levy opened her eyes slowly. There was that smell of cinnamon again. She tried to sit up, but a weight on her back made her think twice about any sudden movements. She heard someone groan.

"Owww~ my head."

She looked up, her eyes resting on what she surmised was a person's chin. That's when it all clicked.

Natsu was lying on his back, his arm wrapped around Levy's waist while she laid on his chest.

Her face blazing red, Levy sat up as fast as she could. This only made her position all the more embarrassing for now she was straddling Natsu's waist. His chest was surprisingly firm under her small hands. It was like she was touching stone.

Before anymore embarrassment could occur, Levy quickly moved off of Natsu, sitting on her knees at his side.

The dragon slayer sat up and rubbed the back of his head. He looked to Levy. "You alright?"

"Y-yes!" she yelped. She then cleared her throat before speaking again. "I-I'm fine."

"That's good." Natsu looked around. They were in an empty room, the only light being the torches on the walls. "Where are we? Are we still in the library?"

"I don't know." Levy said, looking around with him. "I've never been this far in before."

Natsu stood up, stretching the remaining soreness out of his neck and arms. "We should find a way out. I bet Happy and the others are probably worried about us." He punched his palm. "Plus I need to give those stinky jerks a lesson they won't forget.

"Right." Levy nodded. She tried to stand up, but felt a sharp pain in her ankle and fell back to her bottom. "Oww." she winced.

"Are you alright?" Natsu with concern.

"I think I hurt my leg when we were blown in here. I can't put any pressure on it."

"Alright. Here." Natsu turned around and crouched in front of Levy.

"What are you doing?"

"Isn't it obvious? If we're both going to make it out of here I'm going to have to carry you."

"You really don't have to do that." Levy nervously protested.

"I do. I can't just leave you down here. I don't even know where here is."

Levy took a look at their surroundings and let out a sigh. Natsu was right. The only way they would make it back is if they stuck together. She crawled over to him and wrapped her arms around his neck.

Natsu stood up, hoisting Levy off the ground. Then he held his arms under her knees to support her. "All set?" Natsu felt her affirmative nod on his back – though was unaware of her bright red face. "Let's get moving then."

* * *

Jet and Droy raced after the Butt Jiggle Gang through Waas Forest.

"These guys are faster than I thought." Droy said. "You would think those huge butts would slow them down."

"They aren't faster than me." Jet proclaimed.

Upon reaching the clearing, Jet activated his magic.

_**MACH SPEED**_

He zoomed past Droy, the Butt Jiggle Gang quickly coming into view. "Give back that book!" he shouted, reaching his hand out to them.

"Squaddies, huddle up!" The Leader ordered.

"Yes, sir!"

The three bent over, much to the surprise of Jet. He quickly realized what was happening. "Oh crap!"

_**TRIPLE ECSTACY**_

Just like in the library, a fierce gust of foul smelling wind shot forth from the thieves. Jet strafed to the left, barely managing to get out of the way of the attack. While his body was safe, his nose wasn't. He once again pinched his nostrils.

"Dammit! I just started smelling again!" He shouted with tear in his eyes.

"Hold on, I'll take them down!" Droy declared.

_**KNUCKLE PLANT**_

Droy threw seeds onto the ground and out sprouted large vines with fists at the end. They zig-zagged through the clearing towards the trio of criminals. "Dodge this!"

"Ready another round, men!" The Butt Jiggle Leader ordered.

"Right, boss!"

The three men expelled another Triple Ecstasy, this one effectively wilting and killing Droy's vines. The Plant wizard was shocked.

"They stopped my knuckle plant too?!"

"The Butt Jiggle Gang never runs out of gas!" The Leader boasted. "Let's go, men! We'll evade capture just like we did with those other do-gooders earlier!"

"Right, boss!" With that the trio took off again. Jet and Droy hot on their heels.

"These guys are starting to get on my nerves." Jet fumed.

"I hope Happy is having better luck with finding Levy and Natsu." Droy worried.

* * *

"I think we should turn there next." Levy pointed.

"Didn't we just come from that way?" Natsu asked.

Levy slowly lowered her arm. "Probably."

"I think we're lost."

Natsu and Levy both sighed in defeat. After travelling through a few passageways, the pair quickly came to the conclusion that they were indeed lost.

"Are you alright?" Levy asked Natsu. "We should probably take a break."

"Ok." Natsu carefully sat Levy down on the ground before taking a seat next to her. He looked around the room they were currently in. It didn't look that much different from where they started. "Why does a library have a labyrinth inside it?" he asked to no one in particular.

Levy took a shot at an answer anyway. "Maybe it's a place to hide in case the library is ever attacked or destroyed."

"Is it really that special?"

"The Magic Library houses books on virtually every magic known to man. Even one of these books could contain spells that could bring the world to its knees. It makes sense to have a safe house so people like those Butt Jiggle guys won't find any books that could help them bring the world to its knees. "

"Wow." Natsu marvelled with widened eyes. "I didn't know books could do that."

Levy nodded. "They can. It all depends on what book and who's reading it."

Natsu looked forward, his eyes still wide. "I never thought I would be scared of a book."

Levy unwittingly laughed at the dragon slayer's words.

"How's your leg?" he asked her.

Levy looked down at her right leg. It was currently stretched out on the ground. She could see her ankle turning purple from the swelling. She could no longer feel it. It was currently being held in a splint made of two books they had found, but this was only a temporary solution. "It's gone numb, but I'll manage somehow." She looked to Natsu. "How is your nose?"

Natsu rubbed under his nostrils. "Still can't smell anything." Because of his heightened senses, the Butt Jiggle Gang's attack completely negated his sense of smell. "Those guys really did a number on me."

Levy looked down in shame. "I'm sorry. It's my fault. If I hadn't froze you wouldn't have gotten hurt and we could have recovered the book. I screwed up."

"Come on, don't say that." Natsu comforted. "Anybody would have done the same in your shoes. They may not look it, but those big butt jerks are pretty tricky."

Levy managed to smile just a little at Natsu's words. She watched him stand up and stretch his arms overhead. He then bent backwards to flex his back. When he was done he looked back to her.

"Ready to get moving?"

Levy nodded. She returned to her position on his back and pair set off again.

Walking into the dimly lit passageway directly in front of them, Natsu heard a faint ringing in his ear. It got louder the further he walked down the passage .

"You hear that?" he asked Levy.

"Hear what?"

"That buzzing noise."

Levy turned her head to focus her hearing in her right ear, but all she heard was Natsu's steady breathing and the crackling of the torches lining the walls. "I don't hear anything out of the ordinary."

The ringing in Natsu's head continued.

"Well I definitely hear something." He said.

"Maybe it's because of your dragon slayer abilities."

"Maybe. It might be a way out." Natsu tightened his grip on Levy's legs and broke into a run.

"N-Natsu! Slow down!" Almost losing her grip on his shoulders, Levy forced herself forward, wrapping her arms around the dragon slayer's neck.

Natsu ran through one corridor after another as if he was being pulled along by a string. The buzzing in his ears grew louder and louder the further he and Levy travelled. Whatever this sound was…only he could hear it. It was like it was calling to him.

"Natsu, are you sure this is the way out?" Levy asked unsurely as they turned into another passage.

Natsu didn't respond. He kept running. His focus solely on the path ahead.

Levy prepared to call his name again when a bright light caught her attention. She squinted, looking away as the light grew brighter the closer they got to it. "What is that?" Levy asked her still silent comrade. "The exit?"

Levy's eyes properly adjusted when they entered the room. It was completely different than the ones they were in previously. In fact it was unlike any room she had seen before. Along the stone walls were carvings of cards, each with pictures and numbers. They were expertly detailed. Whoever made them spent a good deal of time on the project.

"What is this place?" she blurted.

"Huh?" Finally hearing what she said Natsu turned his head to Levy. Unwittingly making their cheeks touch.

The script wizard swiftly broke the contact and looked to Natsu, her eyes wide. His face was warm, she felt like she would melt if they were together too long. When she saw Natsu's perplexed stare she calmed down.

"I was asking what this place was." Her heart was still racing.

Natsu looked back to the room. "I don't really know." He recognized some of the carvings on the walls. Fool. Strength. Empress. Devil. Lovers. Priestess. Star. Fortune. They were pictures of the Arcana. There were other pictures as well, but Natsu didn't recognize them. He assumed that they were more Arcana. _Cana did say there were twenty-six of them._ He remembered.

"What's that?" Levy pointed to an object on a pedestal in the middle of the room.

"It looks like a book." Natsu answered, not really sure. He bumped up Levy so she was better seated and began to walk to the pedestal.

"Be careful." She warned. "It might be a cursed book."

"Cursed?"

Levy nodded. "Ancient wizards were known to put spells on books in order to keep them out of the hands of their enemies. I've even heard that some of those spells have even been known to cause instant death."

Natsu took a big gulp and his pace slowed a bit. When he and Levy reached the pedestal, they carefully looked down at the book. It was bound by chains. Its leather binding no doubt worn due to years of being in this place. It wasn't an essentially thick tome, but Natsu and Levy could both feel a strong power radiating from it.

"You feel that?" Natsu asked.

"I do." Levy nodded. "I think we should just leave it here and look for the way out. I don't have a good feeling about this." As she said this Natsu reached his hand out to the book. "What are you doing?!"

"I can hear it…" Natsu muttered to himself. It felt like the same presence that made him touch the box. The same presence that brought him into this world of ancient magic to begin with.

"Natsu, wait!"

Natsu touched the book and a radiant light flashed throughout the room. The chains broke apart, freeing the book as the carvings in the walls began glowing. Then the rumbling started.

"What's going on?!" Levy shouted.

"I don't know!"

Levy watched in shock as the walls began to crumble. "The room is caving in! I told you to leave the book alone!" she panicked.

"I couldn't help it!" Natsu hurriedly looked for an exit. He noticed that the carving that was once the Fool's Arcana was now a hole in the wall. "There!" he pointed. He grabbed the book and sprinted through the hole, avoiding the falling debris. "Hang on!" he shouted to Levy.

"I am!" she retorted in fright, hanging on to Natsu's neck for dear life.

The entire corridor crumbling around them, Levy saw a small light at the end of the tunnel. "Look!"

"I see it!"

Natsu ran as fast as he could and jumped out of the tunnel. When he and Levy came out on the other side, they were on the ground floor of the library. The hole they emerged from was then covered by a sliding bookshelf.

"Are we back?" Natsu asked.

"I think so." Levy said. She smiled, breathing a sigh of relief. "We made it out."

"Natsu! Levy!"

The pair watched Happy fly to them with tears in his eyes. "You're back!"

"Sorry to worry ya, buddy." Natsu smiled, petting his head.

"Where were you two? I looked everywhere."

"We were lost in some weird maze."

"A maze?" Happy questioned with a tilt of his head.

"I think it was some sort of store area for the books." Levy said.

When Happy finally took notice of Levy on Natsu's back, he grinned mischievously.

"What's that smile for?" Natsu interrogated. He knew that look all too well.

"I see now." Happy nodded sagely. "You two were just going off to make out somewhere. Don't worry I won't tell anyone, but I feel bad for Gajeel, Jet, and Droy."

Natsu was completely lost. "What are you talking about?" He turned to Levy for an answer.

"It's not like that at all!" Levy loudly protested, her cheeks as red as a tomato. "Natsu is only carrying me because I hurt myself."

"Hey you don't have to try and convince me of anything." Happy reassured.

"I told you it's not like that!"

"Ow, Levy. That's right in my ear." Natsu grumbled.

She covered her mouth. "Sorry." she whispered.

"Levy, you're ok!"

The trio saw Jet and Droy running to them from the library entrance, complete with a groggy Butt Jiggle Gang wrapped in vines.

"I'm fine too." Natsu said deadpan.

The two ignored the dragon slayer and talked directly to Levy.

"Are you ok?" Jet asked.

"Are you hurt? What happened to your leg?" Droy added.

"Did Natsu do anything to you?"

"Yeah. Why are you on his back?"

Levy smiled at their concern. "I'm fine, guys, really. It's just a sprain." She looked to the defeated Butt Jiggle Gang. "You caught them?" she asked with slight surprise.

Jet and Droy both stood proudly before Levy and the others.

"Of course we did." Jet said.

"We couldn't just let those jerks get away with the book." Droy boasted.

"Where is it?" Levy asked.

"Right here." Jet held out the book to Levy but Happy intercepted it. "Hey! That's for Levy!"

Happy shook his head. "No it's mine. See?" he opened the book, revealing a recipe for fried fish.

The humans nearly fell over in shock.

"You mean we chased these stinkers over a recipe book?!" Droy shouted at Happy, pointing at the criminals.

"They're really good recipes." the Leader interjected. "We even went to the trouble of stealing a special pot to make them in-"

"You shut up!"

Happy smiled sheepishly, angering Jet and Droy more.

"What about that book we found?" Levy asked Natsu.

"I got it right here."

The others looked to the pair.

"What book?" Droy asked.

Natsu showed them. "We found it in this strange room earlier. It was talking to me."

"Talking to you?" Jet raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah." Natsu nodded. "It's like it knew I was looking for it."

"I think those guy's farts are messing with your brain." Droy said.

"Aye." Happy agreed.

Natsu ignored their words and slowly opened the book to a random page. On the slightly crumpled page was a picture of the one of the Arcana. The Fool. That was all Natsu could make out. The rest of the page was written with symbols he had never seen before.

"Looks like a bunch of gibberish to me." Droy said.

"Can you translate it, Levy?" Jet asked, looking to the perplexed bluenette.

"I don't know…" Levy trailed off, narrowing her gaze at the letters. She could make out couple of words, but they were too spread apart from each other for her to make a complete sentence out of them. "Some of these symbols haven't been used in hundreds of years. Others I've never seen before."

Natsu closed the book. "Well there's gotta be someone who can translate this thing. I'll just have to find them."

Levy smiled at his determination.

"Let's get out of here. It's getting dark out." Natsu began to walk out of the library, Levy still attached to his back much to Jet and Droy's chagrin.

"Don't worry about it, boys." The Leader of the Butt Jiggle Gang sympathized. "We've all been hit by the pungent smell of rejection at one time in our lives."

"There are plenty of other fish in the sea." Lackey A added.

"You'll both catch the whiff of love again." Lackey B comforted.

"Can it." Jet and Droy retorted. They grabbed the vines the scoundrels were trapped in and dragged them out of the library.

Happy tried to stifle his laughter.

* * *

Natsu yawned as he walked through the quiet halls, his eyelids getting heavier with each step he took.

After returning to Oshibana and dropping off the Butt Jiggle Gang at the local council station, the group took Levy to the local hospital to get her ankle examined. She asserted that she was fine, but the boys all insisted she go anyway. Acquiescing to their whims, Levy agreed to have doctor look after her.

As she expected it was only a sprain, but he doctor still suggested she stay the night in the hospital until most of the swelling had gone down. Again she wanted to protest, but upon realizing that the trains were no longer running for the night she decided to stay.

Natsu walked into Levy's room. "I'm back." He yawned, lifting the bag in his hand.

"Thanks for getting those." Levy smiled. "I didn't mean to be an inconvenience."

"It's alright." Natsu walked to Levy and reached into the bag, handing her a box of saltine crackers. He then sat in the chair next to her bed.

He looked to Jet and were still sleeping on the couch across from the bed, both snoring rather loudly. Happy was lying on the window sill behind Natsu. Completely unaffected by the duo's log sawing.

"How do you deal with that noise?" Natsu asked Levy with a wince. "And people say my snoring is bad."

"I've gotten used to it over the years." Levy smiled before returning her attentions to the book in her hands.

"Are you still trying to translate that thing?" Natsu asked.

"Mhm." Levy muttered. "I can make out a few words here and there, but I'm still having trouble with some of the descriptions. I'll ask Freed to help me when we return to the guild. He's a little better with this than I am."

"You know you don't have to do this."

Levy shook her head with a small smile. "I know, but I want to. After all you've done for me these past couple of days it's only fair I help you out too."

Natsu peered into the book. He still couldn't understand a thing other than the pictures. "I don't know how you do this. It's just making my head hurt by looking."

Levy chuckled. "Translating languages can be tricky, but it's rewarding in its own way."

"Really?" Natsu looked at the book again.

"Yep."

Natsu sat back in his seat and pondered this for a bit. He then nodded firmly. "Ok." he decided.

"Natsu?" Levy called to him.

He opened his eyes to her. "I'll help."

"Help with what?"

Natsu leaned back over the bed. "I'll help you translate."

Levy's eyes widened. "You really don't have to do that. This is much harder than it looks. It takes years of practice and-"

"I can handle it." Natsu waved off. "Besides it wouldn't be fair to make you do all of the work. I was the one looking for the book. It's only fair I help in trying to read it."

Levy was surprised by Natsu's maturity. She expected him to just dismiss her words as boring and leave the translation to her – which she didn't really mind if she was being honest. She was fully prpeapred to do this alone as a way of repayment to him. Instead here he was declaring that he was going to help her...again. He wouldn't add much to the overall process – him being an amateur and all – but something told Levy to at least let him try.

"Alright." She accepted. "You can help."

Natsu smiled wide. "Awesome, but first things first."

"What?"

Natsu poked the bowl that sat on the tray in Levy's lap. Within a few seconds steam started to rise from the top. "You need to eat." He said.

Levy had almost completely forgotten about the soup the nurse had brought her. That was the entire reason she asked Natsu to bring crackers. She ate some of it – it wasn't very appetizing – but when she started translating the soup became cold.

Dipping one of her crackers into the reheated liquid, Levy began to eat. "Thank you." She said after swallowing.

"Don't mention it." He grinned.

After a few minutes Levy finished her meal and began to translate with renewed vigor. Natsu aided her for about an hour – mostly by asking what each individual word meant – before succumbing to slumber himself.

He rested his weary head on Levy's bed. His arms acting as a makeshift pillow.

Levy briefly looked to him with a smile. His pink hair dimly shined in the moonlight. He looked so innocent.

"Goodnight, Natsu." she said genuinely.

Levy returned to translating the book, and a card began to float over her head.

* * *

**New chapter! Honestly I was not expecting to make Levy's part three chapters but here we are. **

**I used the dub translation of the Jiggle Butt Gang's name (it's just reversed). I feel it rolls off the tongue better, but that's just me. I tried to add some comedy in here with them, as well as Jet, Droy, and Happy so hopefully you all enjoyed that.**

**I will be posting the last poll on Friday, so please be on the look out for that and vote!**

**Thanks for reading! :)**


	14. Script of the Priestess III

The High Priestess – or the "Priestess" as it is more commonly known – can be a frustrating arcana to fully acquire.

Those who possess this arcana are known to be highly intelligent individuals, but this quality of their character is usually overshadowed by their reluctance to open up to others. This in turn hampers their ability to use this intelligence to their advantage.

In a sense this contradiction of self makes the possessor of the Priestess Arcana a near perfect manifestation of their namesake. Shy and modest, yet hiding a tremendous wealth of power within themselves. This can lead to indecision more often than not.

Patience is essential for one to fully manifest this arcana. In some cases it never fully develops; though this is rare. Despite its obstacles, the time taken to try and figure it out **how** to unlock its potential can be just as rewarding as gaining the arcana itself.

It is simply a matter of time.

* * *

"You want some too, you jerk!"

"Natsu…"

"Bring it!"

"Natsu…!"

"I'll take all of you bastards on!"

"Natsu!"

The dragon slayer's eyes shot open and he sat up, a line of drool hanging from his open mouth. "What?! What happened? Someone attacking the guild?!"

"You're slumbering roars certainly made it seem that way." Freed commented under his breath.

"You fell asleep again." Levy informed.

Natsu cleaned his mouth, smiling sheepishly at the petite scribe next to him. "Sorry about that."

"Maybe it would be best if you let us handle this." Freed suggested with as little venom as he could muster. This was the third time Natsu had fallen asleep in as many hours, and the enchantment caster was starting to grow weary of waking him up. "Levy and I can handle this translation without your…'help'."

"Freed's right."

Though she didn't agree with his phrasing, Levy did believe that it would be best if she and Freed were left alone to focus on translating. Natsu's constant snoring and sleep-talking was just too much of a distraction.

Natsu shook his head in refusal. "I said I'd help you so that's what I'm going to do."

"I appreciate it, Natsu, really I do. But you don't have to force yourself for my sake. Freed and I can take care of things on our own."

Natsu's shoulders started to slump. "Really?" His big eyes begged for Levy to say no.

She didn't seem to catch the hint. "Yeah. I'll let you know when we're done, ok?" she smiled.

"Alright." Natsu rose from his seat and dragged his feet to the stairway. He gave one last look back to the table. To his increasing melancholy Levy and Freed carried on like nothing happened.

When Levy heard the door close behind Natsu she looked to Freed.

"I think we were too hard on him." she said with a hint of guilt in her voice.

Freed continued to sort through the scattered papers on the table. "Couldn't be helped. We can get much more done without him. He asked to help him, and we can't do that with his snoring and rambling constantly breaking our concentration."

"Yeah…" Levy agreed penitently. "I guess you're right." She still felt awful.

* * *

Natsu let out a long sigh, his eyes firmly set on the ground as he pressed his forehead against the edge of the bar counter.

"What's wrong, Natsu?" Mirajane asked. "You've been sighing for five whole minutes now."

Natsu raised his head, placing his chin on the bar. He looked to the curious - and slightly concerned - barmaid in front of him.

"Levy and Freed kicked me out of the library. The said I was a 'distraction'." he grumbled.

"Well if what I heard up here is an indication then I'm inclined to degree." Mirajane giggled, referencing Natsu's snoring.

"Thanks, Mira." The dragon slayer said sardonically.

"All I'm saying is that it's hard for them to concentrate with you constantly falling asleep. Your snoring can be really loud."

"That's what they said." Natsu said. "I'm trying to stay awake, but it's just so boring! All of that reading and stuff makes my head hurt."

"I'm not going to pretend that I find translating ancient languages appealing either, but you have to let Levy and Freed do their work in peace. Otherwise they'll never get done."

"Fine." Natsu huffed.

"Don't pout. Why not go on a job? That will help take your mind off of things."

"Everyone else went out already." Natsu's words proved to be true. Erza had left for a job a couple of days ago. Juvia had taken a job with Mira's siblings, Happy, and Gajeel. Even Cana was gone; having left on a job a little while earlier with Gray and Lucy.

"You can't go on your own?" Mirajane suggested.

"It's not as fun."

"Hmmm." Mirajane couldn't really argue with that line of thinking. Going on a job alone guaranteed one all of the reward money, but it could get rather lonely and boring as well.

As the barmaid thought of another way to help reduce Natsu's boredom, an idea struck her. "I know! I have to go into town and buy supplies for the bar. Why don't you come with me?"

"Nah." Natsu declined with a dismissive wave of his hand. "Sounds boring. I'll just wait till one of the others come back and ask them if they want to go on a job with me."

Mirajane puffed out her cheeks in a pout. "Geez. Why do you have to be so difficult? It's not like you're doing anything else."

Mirajane moved from behind the bar, grabbed Natsu by the scarf and pulled him off of his stool. He fell to the ground with a hard thud, the barmaid keeping a firm grip on his scarf and coat collar.

"Hey! Mira!" Natsu struggled but he couldn't break free. "What's the big idea?! Let me go will ya?! I don't want to go!"

"Well you're not gonna sulk here all day." Mirajane turned to smile at Kinana. "Can you watch over things while I'm gone?"

"You can count on me." Kinana nodded with a smile of her own.

"Thank you. Come on, Natsu." Mirajane dragged the struggling dragon slayer to the guild's entrance.

Those still in guild laughed as Natsu was pulled along by Mirajane. She didn't even need her takeover to easily drag him.

"It's now or never, Wendy." Carla said as she sipped her tea. "I suggest you go now."

"R-right." Wendy stood up from her seat and quickly walked to Mirajane. "Um, excuse me."

Mirajane stopped. "Oh hello, Wendy."

"Wendy! Help me!" Natsu pleaded, still trying to loosen Mirajane's iron grip.

"Ignore him. He's just being stubborn." The barmaid smiled. "Did you need something?"

"O-oh yes. Well…" Wendy briefly looked at Natsu before looking away all together. "...where are you going?"

"Natsu and I are going to buy supplies for the bar."

"**We** aren't going anywhere!" Natsu protested. "Mira forced me to-"A hard hit to head effectively silenced the dragon slayer, much to the shock of Wendy.

"Would you like to come with us?" Mirajane asked this question with a smile. Compared to her violent action just a few seconds ago, this was was very unnerving.

"Y-yes." Wendy nodded meekly.

"Wonderful. Let's get going before the shops start getting crowded." Mirajane walked to the guild doors, Wendy and Carla – having finished her tea – not far behind.

Wendy worriedly looked to the still unconscious Natsu. "Will he be ok?"

"He'll be back to one hundred percent once he smells the food in the market district." Mirajane answered. Her smile had yet to fade.

* * *

Levy placed the stack of papers in her hand on the table and leaned back in her chair, letting out a relaxed moan as she stretched her arms and back.

"How far have you gotten?" Freed asked her. He was still working.

"I have the first five chapters done so far." she answered. "What about you?"

"Almost done with the second group of chapters. You were right. This book **is** ancient. I'm having to translate it into two different dialects beforehand just to get it to modern language."

"I think we've earned a break." Levy took off her glasses and placed them on the table. "You want anything to eat?"

"A black tea should be fine." Freed answered, still not looking up from his papers. "Thank you, Levy."

"You're welcome. I'll be right back." Levy walked up the stairs and entered the guild hall. After being in the library all morning, coming out felt like being released from an underground shelter.

Making her way to the bar, she was immediately happened upon by a gleeful Jet and Droy.

"Levy!" the pair exclaimed happily, stopping their leader in her tracks.

"H-hey, guys." She waved with widened eyes. Their sudden appearance startled her.

"Are you finished down there?" Jet asked quickly.

"Not yet. We still have a little ways to go."

"When will you be done?" Droy inquired.

"Hopefully before the end of the night." Levy looked around Jet and Droy. The guild seemed to be missing a certain pink-haired dragon slayer. "Have you guys seen Natsu? He came up here a little while ago."

"He went into town with Mira and Wendy about an hour ago." Jet reported, pointing his thumb to the open guild doors. "I think Mira mentioned something about buying stuff for the bar."

"Yeah. You should have seen it." Droy snickered. "Mira dragged him away kicking and screaming."

Levy grinned. "Oh, she did? Too bad I missed it. I just came up to get something to eat for myself and Freed. I'll see you two in a bit, ok?"

"Got it." Jet nodded.

"Good luck, Levy." Droy added. "We're here to help if you need it."

"I know. Thanks, guys."

With that Shadowgear parted ways and Levy was finally able to reach the bar. She was greeted by Kinana.

"Hello, Levy." The interim barmaid smiled. "Taking a break?"

"Sort of. I'm going back down after I get food."

"In that case, what'll it be?"

"Two black teas and an egg salad sandwich please."

"Coming right up."

Kinana soon busied herself with the food preparations while Levy took a seat. She placed her elbow on the bar top, her head nested in the palm of her hand as she absentmindedly looked at the back wall. For some reason she found herself a tad bit sad that Natsu wasn't around.

_I should find a way to apologize to him when he gets back. _She thought.

"Here you go." Kinana placed a silver platter in front of Levy. On it was the sandwich and teas she ordered.

"Thank you, Kinana."

"No problem. Good luck."

Levy took the platter. It wasn't heavy, but she didn't want to chance spilling anything on the ground, so she carefully walked back to the library. After slowly descending the stairs, she placed the platter on the table.

"That took longer than expected." Freed commented with a grin.

"Sorry about that."

"Don't worry I was only teasing." Freed reached for the saucer with his tea. Pinky finger outstretched he took a quick sip, his eyes slightly widening at the taste. "It's even better than usual."

"Kinana made it." Levy took her seat. Placing her food in front of her.

**_SOLID SCRIPT: TABLE_**

Wooden letters spelling out "TABLE" stacked next to Levy. She placed the platter on them.

"Where is Mirajane?" Freed inquired.

"Jet and Droy told me she's out running errands. Natsu and Wendy went with her."

"That's a relief. Now that Natsu is actually gone we can get done much faster."

"That's not fair, Freed." Levy said. "Natsu really wanted to help us."

"Yes until he fell asleep the first time…and the second time…and then there was the third-"

"Ok. Ok. I get it." Levy sighed. "But it's the thought that counts right?"

"I suppose." Freed finished his tea and returned to work.

Levy soon followed suit.

* * *

"Hurry, Natsu! You're falling behind!" Mirajane sang.

"Well if you'd slow down a little I could catch up!" the dragon slayer irritably retorted. The bags hanging from his arms only seemed to get heavier and heavier with each passing step, and from the happy look on Mirajane's face the load would only get more cumbersome from here on out.

"Do you need help?" Wendy offered. "I don't mind carrying one of the bags."

Natsu smiled at her in an attempt to ease her worries. "Nah. It's fine. I can handle it. I haven't had a workout all day anyway."

Wendy seemed to accept this answer and continued to walk at Natsu's side. Mirajane not too far ahead of them.

"Are we done yet, Mira?" Natsu called.

"Just one more stop." She pleaded with a smile. "Bear with it a little longer. Please?"

Natsu rolled his eyes. "Alright." He looked down to Wendy. "Is that alright with you, Wendy? You're probably bored of walking around with us. You probably wanted to go on a job."

"N-no." Wendy quickly shook her head and grinned. "I wanted to come. I wasn't doing anything else anyway."

"That's an understatement." Carla interjected. Wendy sulked in shame.

The trio finally caught up with Mirajane. She was standing in front of what she was apparently their final stop for the day.

"Here we are." She happily presented.

Natsu, Wendy, and Carla looked inside the window of the shop. They expected more cookware, grocery, and supplies, but were instead met with racks and mannequins with dresses hanging on them. Wendy looked up to the sign handing over the door.

"The Siren's Armoire." She read aloud.

"This is a dress shop." Natsu flatly stated.

"I'm aware of that." Mirajane replied.

"Is there a particular reason why we're here?" Carla asked. "This seems hardly the time for a wardrobe change, and I doubt the guild has a place to store them."

"To be honest I've been planning to buy a new dress for a while." Mirajane admitted. "But I've been too busy with guild duties to go and get one."

Carla raised an eyebrow in suspicion. "So this entire excursion was all so you could purchase a new dress?"

Mirajane giggled. "You caught me. The bar really did need supplies…just not right now. Better to kill two birds with one stone, right? Shall we go in?"

"Lead the way." Carla sighed.

"Welcome." The shopkeeper – a young woman with dark blue hair – greeted with a bow as the group entered the shop. "Is there anything I can help you find today?"

"Oh no, we're just browsing." Mirajane answered with a smile.

"Ok. Let me know if you need anything."

"Thank you." Mirajane bowed her head in gratitude once more then proceeded to look around the shop.

Natsu sighed and started a search of his own. A search for a place to sit and rest his tired arms. Wendy motioned to follow after him, but was stopped by Mirajane before she got too far.

"Why don't you take a look around too, Wendy?" She suggested. "If you find something you like, I'll buy it for you."

"N-no. That's ok. I couldn't let you do that." Wendy politely declined.

"Don't look a gift horse in the mouth, child." Carla said. "If she wants to purchase you a dress I say let her. Your wardrobe could use some touching up."

"Ok." Wendy reluctantly accepted. "Thank you, Mira."

"It's no trouble." Mirajane smiled. "We'll find you something really pretty. Something that will make the boys unable to take their eyes off of you."

The sky maiden blushed. She briefly glanced over to Natsu – he had found a small sofa near the dressing rooms to sit on, his pinky resting comfortably in his right nostril – before looking down at her toes in embarrassment. "Y-you don't have to go that far."

Natsu leaned back in the sofa. Staring at the lamp light above, his mind started to drift_. I wonder if Levy and Freed are done translating the book yet._

"Natsu?"

"Hm?" The dragon slayer craned his neck down and looked ahead, seeing Wendy and Mirajane with dresses in their arms.

"We're going to try these on." Mirajane told him. "Let us know what you think ok?"

"Umm…ok."

Mirajane smiled. "Great. We'll be right out. Don't go anywhere."

_Where would I go?_ Natsu questioned as he watched the pair walked enter their respective dressing rooms. _Why do they want me to tell them how it looks? Aren't they just going to buy them anyway? Girls are weird._

Leaning his head against the back of the chair again, Natsu soon heard the curtains of one of the dressing rooms draw open. When he looked ahead he saw Wendy ready to present her dress – albeit nervously.

"H-how does it look?" she stammered, her fingers clenched tightly along the edge of the dress. Her downcast eyes were covered by her bangs, but Natsu could still see the blush on her cheeks.

The top half of Wendy's new dress was sleeveless, stopping in the middle of the young girl's thighs and flaring out a bit at the ends. Its color was a light cream, with small black polka dots randomly arranged about. The rest of the dress - below the light brown belt fastened around Wendy's waist - was a dark navy color.

"Stop fidgeting, child." Carla chided, waving her paw about in disapproval. "You'll ruin the dress."

"S-sorry." Wendy apologized and let her arms fall limply to her sides. She slowly craned her neck upward until her nervous eyes met Natsu's.

He had remained silent for what Wendy felt was an eternity.

Natsu seemed disinterested, but in reality he was paying very close attention to how Wendy's dress fit her. The garment didn't appear too tight, otherwise she would be struggling to breathe. Nor was it too bottom half of the dress also matched well with Wendy's hair.

He gave his fellow dragon slayer a thumbs up, his wide smile lifting the uneasiness from Wendy's shoulders.

"Looking good, Wendy." He complimented.

The girl's heart thumped and her face flushed completely red. She found her eyes trained on her feet again. "T-thank you." She managed to say.

"I told you there was nothing to worry about." Carla grinned. "You look stunning."

"Now it's my turn." The second dressing room curtain swung open, revealing Mirajane.

Mirajane's new dress was much more daring than Wendy's, but that was to be expected from a cover model.

She wore a long sleeve dress, similar in color to the one she normally wore at the guild, but with a few key differences other than the sleeves.

While Wendy's dress gave her a bit of room to work with, Mirajane's hugged her body tight. All of her curves perfectly visible to anyone that looked her way. It almost appeared that the dress was painted on her. The most noticeable feature on the dress was the hole in the chest, or to be more accurate, it was a window in the shape of a heart. Showcasing Mirajane's bountiful cleavage for all to see.

Wendy was shocked – as well as self-conscious.

"Is something like that really necessary?!" Carla shrieked.

Mirajane ignored the tabby and playfully lifted her hair. She turned around, showing that the dress was also backless. She looked over her shoulder, her half-lidded eyes squarely on Natsu.

"What do you think?" she asked with a smirk.

Natsu looked straight ahead, his expression not changing. "It looks fine." He replied.

"Just fine?" Mirajane was deflated by this reaction. Any other man – and even a few women – would have been rendered speechless at the display. If Jason was passing by he would have went into a coma brought on by sheer excitement, but Natsu was completely unfazed.

Normally Mirajane was not one to be affected by people's reaction to her appearance – that was simply the job when you were a centerfold - but Natsu's opinion meant much more than she thought it would. She wanted him to feel **something**.

The barmaid started to frown, letting go of her hair. She started to close the dressing room curtains… until she saw a small trail of blood trickle from out of Natsu's nose.

Her smile slowly returned. _He's trying to be tough. That's so cute_. She giggled. "I'll go try on a couple of more dresses. What about you, Wendy?"

The young dragon slayer shook her head quickly. "I-I'm fine. I'll take this dress."

"Ok." Mirajane accepted with a smile. "It looks cute on you."

"T-thank you." Wendy wanted to say how her appearance didn't hold a candle to Mirajane's, but decided to keep her comment to herself. Somehow this made her feel even more self-conscious.

"Excuse me." Mirajane walked past Wendy and Carla, making her way to dresses near the shop's entrance.

Wendy looked to Natsu, he still had the same blank expression as blood continued to trickle from his nose. He was completely out of it.

"Please clean your nose." Carla said.

* * *

"There." Levy put her pen down on the table. "All done." She picked up her papers, tapping the bottom of the stack on the table top to line them up. She then placed them back down and stretched her arms.

"Well done." Freed praised.

"Thanks. Are you finished?"

"Sadly some of us are not as swift as others." The enchantment caster grinned ruefully. "I just have a few more pages left."

"Do you want something else to drink?"

"No thank you. I should be fine for the time being."

"Ok. I'll just check over my translations again."

Freed gave an affirmative nod, but his attention was completely on the papers before him.

Levy grabbed her stack and looked over them again with her Gale-Force reading glasses. There were no errors, but she already knew that. When she finished she saw Freed was still translating. Seeing nothing else to do other than wait, she made herself as quiet as possible and watched Freed work.

"You don't have to say down here with me you know." Freed grinned – noticing Levy's stillness from the corner of his eye. "I'll manage just fine on my own."

"I don't mind." Levy smiled warmly. "We're in this together right? I would feel bad if I left you down here to finish by yourself."

Freed returned to work but not before flashing Levy a smile that seemed to say: "Suit yourself."

Levy leaned back in her chair and looked up the long ceiling of the library. Her eyes absently focused on the chandeliers dangling high above. She was ruthlessly bored.

Normally she'd occupy her time by reading, but she had already read all of the books in the library – some two or three times. Resigning herself to fate, Levy interlocked her fingers over her stomach and closed her eyes.

_I wonder…is Natsu back yet? _

Levy heard a yawn and opened her eyes. She turned her head to Freed. He was starting to doze off.

Levy looked to the clock near the stairs. It was almost nine. The guild would be closing in an hour or so. _We've been down here all day._

Levy rose from her chair and walked to Freed. "Maybe we should call it a night."

"Hm?" Freed shook the cobwebs from his head and looked to Levy. "No. I'm fine."

"You don't have to push yourself. Go home and get some rest. I can finish whatever you have left."

"I can't let you do that."

"It's ok." She smiled. "You've done more than enough. Let me take care of the rest."

Freed wanted to protest, but the soft look in Levy's eyes made it hard. He let out a long sigh, signaling his surrender. "I concede."

"Thank you." Levy bowed.

"Don't push yourself too hard." Freed advised. "No sense in one of us keeling over translating some silly book."

"I won't. I promise."

Freed stood up. "Then I leave the rest to you, Levy. Let me know if you find anything else…interesting."

"I will. Good night, Freed."

"Good night, Levy."

The emerald-haired swordsman grabbed his coat and walked up the stairs to exit the library.

Levy sat back down once Freed was gone. She picked up his stack of papers. "Ok. Let's see what we've got here."

After a few minutes of looking over Freed's notes, Levy felt her eyelids get heavy.

"Oh my." She yawned. " I need coffee." She gathered all of the papers and put them in her satchel. "I should probably finish this at home. I'm more comfortable working there anyway." Levy finished packing and walked up the stairs.

When she entered the main hall of the guild she looked out of the window. As she expected it was dark outside. Most everyone was gone – even Jet and Droy. The only ones left were Mirajane and Kinana, who were making their final preparations before starting to clean for the night.

"Good evening, Levy." Mirajane smiled. "I saw Freed leave the library a few minutes ago. Are you finally finished working?"

"Not quite." Levy shook her head. "There are still a couple of pages left. I told Freed I'd finish up. I was hoping to get one last cup of coffee before heading home if it's not too much trouble."

"Of course. Kinana?"

"One coffee coming up." The purple-haired barmaid smiled.

"Thanks." Levy sat down at the bar, placing her satchel on the stool next to her.

"Looks like you've had quite a day." Mirajane giggled.

"Not really. Just a long one. I heard you went shopping earlier. Did you get everything you needed?"

"Yes." Mirajane smiled. "Yes I did."

After the first dress, Mirajane found four more. Each more daring than the last. One of them was even partly see-through. While some of the more racy dresses were a bit uncomfortable to wear, Mirajane tried them on just to see Natsu's reactions. She had never seen his face go so red before. Eventually she settled on two dresses: the first one she tried on, and a much more conservative dress that she could wear for guild work.

"That's good." Levy smiled. She was oblivious to the true reason for the eldest Strauss sibling's good mood.

"Hey, Levy!"

The scribe looked over her shoulder to see Natsu approaching the bar with a wave and a smile. He sat next to her.

"You finish the book yet?" he asked.

"Not yet."

"That sucks. I thought you'd be done by now."

"So did we, but it was a bit harder to translate than we thought. I'll try and finish it tonight."

"Don't work too hard." Natsu said. "It's just a dumb book. No reason to lose sleep over it."

Levy giggled at his concern. "Don't worry. I'll be fine."

"Here you go." Mirajane placed Levy's cup of coffee in front of her. "Enjoy."

"Thank you. I'll head home now." Levy grabbed the cup and started to walk out of the guild hall.

"See ya tomorrow, Levy." Natsu said.

"See you-"Levy suddenly stopped walking, confusing Natsu and the others. _I almost forgot._

"Levy?" Natsu called.

"Is there something wrong?" Mirajane asked.

"Do you not like the coffee?" Kinana fretted. "I can make you another one."

"Natsu, have you had dinner yet?" Levy suddenly asked.

"No…" he wondered where she was going with this. As was Mirajane.

Levy looked over her shoulder, her smile directed at the dragon slayer. "Do wanna get something to eat? My treat."

For some reason Natsu was compelled to accept this offer. "Y-yeah." He nodded. "That sounds awesome."

"Great. Follow me. I know a place that should still be open around this time."

"Cool. Lead the way." Natsu hopped from his stool and followed after Levy.

Leaving behind a stunned Mirajane and Kinana.

* * *

"Here you are. Enjoy."

The waitress gently placed two plates of food before Natsu and Levy.

Levy ordered a simple sandwich with turkey, mayonnaise, tomato, and lettuce. Natsu was presented with a large bowl of ramen. The bowl was almost as big as his head.

"I will return with the rest of your food shortly, sir." The waitress said to Natsu with a bow.

"Thanff." Natsu absently waved at her, his face already full of ramen.

"Thank you." Levy repeated. With that the waitress made her way back to the kitchen.

Natsu loudly slurped on his noodles, broth flying every which way the closer they came to his mouth. Amazingly none of the liquid flew in Levy's direction.

"So…" Levy drawled, doing her best to think of a topic of conversation.

Though the pair regularly interacted over the past number of days, Levy was still unsure on how to start a conversation with Natsu. Compared to Gajeel – who mostly brooded and brushed her aside when she tried to talk to him – Natsu was much easier to speak with; but the scribe still found herself at a loss for a topic that would interest the both of them.

Having heard Levy, Natsu looked up from his bowl with wide-eyes; noodles hanging from his mouth.

Levy couldn't help but giggle.

Natsu noisily slurped the noodles into his mouth and swallowed.

"I heard you went shopping with Mira today…" Levy began. "How did that go?"

Natsu finished drinking the ramen broth, wiping some of the liquid from around his mouth with his sleeve before answering. "Mira dragged us all over town." He complained. "I don't even think she needed half of the stuff she bought."

"Better safe than sorry." Levy said.

"Here you are, sir. Sorry for the wait."

The waitress returned, along with three of her coworkers. Each of them had a plate of food in their hands.

Natsu started to salivate and looked to Levy. "You sure?" he asked her.

She smiled and nodded. "I did say it was my treat."

Natsu's eyes lit up. "Awesome! Bring on the food!" he yelled to the wait staff.

The quartet placed the plates of food before the excited dragon slayer. Natsu's stomach was doing backflips in excitement at the wide array of meals in front of him. Not wasting another second, he dug in.

"Is it good?" Levy joked.

Natsu stopped and looked to her, once again there were bits of food on his face. He pulled the leg off of the roasted chicken he had yet to touch and held it to a confused Levy. "Wanna taste?"

"O-oh no. You don't have to worry about me." Levy politely refused, but Natsu proved persistent.

He held the meat closer to her, the smell of the meat's honey glaze enticing her both her nose and her taste buds. "Come on. You know you want to."

Soon Levy gave in. "Ok. Ok." he took to the leg and bit into it. The meat was warm, tender, and juicy. Melting into her mouth the more she chewed on it. "This is really good." she said with widened eyes.

"It was kind of raw so I had to cook it some more with my magic." Natsu revealed. "You want any more just ask."

"I will. Thank you."

* * *

"That train ride lasted forever."

"You slept the entire way back."

"I can't help it. A girl needs her beauty sleep. Kicking dark guild butt gets tiring after a while."

"Good job, Cana."

"Thanks."

Having traveled to a small town in the east called Aster, the somewhat peculiar trio of Cana Alberona, Lucy Heartfilia, and Gray Fullbuster were tasked with protecting a bank from a local dark guild attack.

It was a relatively routine protection job all things considered, but there was an unexpected occurrence, Cana's attitude. While she was never really lazy when out on a job, she was much more motivated than usual today.

In fact she nearly took out the entire dark guild by herself. Gray and Lucy hadn't seen a fire lit in her like that in quite some time. It was a pleasant surprise.

The fortuneteller stretched her arms overhead, Lucy and Gray following her as they exited the train station.

"Anybody wanna hit the town?" Cana suggested with a wink and a smile.

"It's almost midnight." Gray pointed out deadpan. This didn't faze Cana.

"So? Most bars aren't even lively until midnight."

"I think I'll pass." Lucy voiced. "I'm pretty beat from the job."

"Ditto." Gray said. "I just wanna go home and sleep."

"Lightweights. Go home and be boring, but you won't live long like that."

The trio went their separate ways for the evening, Cana finding herself strolling the lantern lit streets of Magnolia alone.

The town wasn't much different at night than it was during the day. The only thing immediately noticeable was the scarcity of people on the streets.

"Hey, Cana! Hitting up the bars so soon?"

"Early drunk gets the booze." She smiled at the passerby.

Cana didn't have many friends outside of the guild. Sure she had a couple of drinking buddies, but she wouldn't call them anything more than that. Lately things had started to get boring.

"Drinking alone sucks." She bemoaned. "Where's a hot guy when you need him?" For some reason, Cana found herself thinking of Natsu.

Lately the two rarely had a chance to talk one on one. She was going on more jobs which lessened her time spent in the guild hall, but even when she was there Natsu was always preoccupied with either Erza, Mirajane, or he was taking jobs of his own.

It wasn't that Cana **had** to talk to Natsu…she just wanted to.

Cutting into an alleyway, Cana saw a familiar bottom wriggling in some shrubs on a sidewalk at the end of the alley. "Juvia?" she called.

The rain woman nearly jumped out of her skin at the sound of her name. She shot up, her head peeking out from the top of the shrubs. Juvia looked over her shoulder – completely unaware of the leaves and twigs sticking out from her hair.

"G-good evening, Cana. How pleasant to see you." She greeted with a nervous smile.

"What are you doing in the bushes?"

"I was…" Juvia's eyes frantically searched for something to use as an excuse. Her salvation came when she spotted a beetle crawling along one of the twigs sticking out from her hair. "I was beetle watching!"

Cana raised an eyebrow. "Beetle watching?"

"Yes! Beetle watching!"

"I didn't know you liked that sort of thing."

"Oh I do! Very much so! Beetles are very interesting creatures."

Cana stared at the rain woman in silence for a few moments. Juvia struggled to keep her smile stable. It was obvious that she was lying.

"Mind if I join you?" Cana asked. She wanted to know exactly what Juvia was hiding.

This caught the rain woman completely off-guard. "I-I'm sorry?"

"Beetle watching sounds fun."

Juvia quickly racked her brain for another excuse. "Normally I wouldn't mind, but umm…beetles are very shy at night you see. If we startle them, they could run away."

"Then I'll just be quiet." Cana reasoned. She walked to the bush. "Now scoot over."

"N-no, Cana! Please don't come closer! The beetles-"

"Stop being so paranoid." The brunette stuck her head into the bushes. When she came out the other side, a bright light flooded into her eyes.

Cana looked up, seeing a light post illuminate a sign on the building ahead that read "Magnolia Bistro".

"A café?"

Cana looked through the window of the bistro, surprised to see Natsu and Levy seated across from one another at a table. "What are those two doing in there?"

"I'm sorry."

Juvia poked her head out next to Cana's, an expression of shame on her face. "This is what I was truly doing here. I didn't want to say anything because I was too embarrassed."

"I gathered. So you're stalking Natsu now?"

"I'm not stalking him!" Juvia fiercely protested. "I stopped by his home with Happy to tell him about the job I went on today, but he wasn't there. I thought perhaps he was at the guild hall, so I decided to go back. That's when I saw him enter this bistro with Levy."

"So instead of walking up to him and saying hi, you decided to hide out in the bushes?" Cana asked.

"I didn't want to interrupt." Juvia blushed and looked away. "I thought perhaps they were going on a…date."

"Natsu and Levy on a date? I doubt it." Cana denied. "They probably just stopped for something to eat after a job or something."

"Do you really think so?" Juvia looked to Cana, her eyes seemingly lit up at the possibility that this outing between the dragon slayer and the script wizard was strictly platonic.

"Y-yeah." Cana assured, slightly uncomfortable by Juvia's staring.

The rain woman sighed in relief. "I see. It's just a friendly outing. That's good."

Cana grinned playfully. "That's a weird thing to say. Don't tell me you have a crush on Natsu."

Juvia's face turned completely red. "W-what?!" she shrieked. "Of course not! Natsu is simply a friend! My heart belongs to Gray!"

"Really? You looked pretty happy when I said they weren't on a date."

"T-that's just…that's because…" Juvia looked away.

"Because?" Cana prodded, leaning closer to the nervous rain woman.

"I don't think Natsu and Levy would get along as a couple."

"Why is that?"

"They are too different. Levy is very smart and Natsu is…"

"Dumb as a sack of rocks?"

"No! Natsu may not be as intelligent as other people, but it's only because his mind is focused on things other than books." Juvia defended.

"You sure sound like you know a lot about Natsu for someone who couldn't stand being around him a month ago."

"People change." Juvia proudly stated. "I may have disliked him before, but now Natsu is a very dear friend to me."

"Well good for you." Cana smiled. She looked back to Levy and Natsu. "So what's the plan? Were you going to go in at some point?"

"I planned to wait until they were finished and then talk to Natsu on his way out."

Cana saw no merit in this plan of Juvia's. _She was going to wait out here all night?_ She looked over to the rain woman once more.

Every time Juvia saw Levy laugh at something Natsu said or did, she would bite her bottom lip in slight frustration, as well as let out a light moan of discomfort. Her body would also writhe uncomfortably in the shrubs every so often.

Cana sighed._ She really needs to be honest with herself. _Though for Cana this was also an odd sight.

Levy seemed to actually enjoy Natsu's company. Every few seconds he would flail his arms around wildly with a mouth full of food – obviously telling a story – and even stand on the table, but no matter what it was Levy looked either incredibly focused on what he was saying - laughing when he finished talking - or begging him to get off of the table. No matter how Cana looked at it, the pair was having fun.

Something…unsettling welled up in the pit of Cana's stomach the longer she watched them. She didn't like it.

"Ok that's Enough of this." She pulled out of the bush and stood up.

"Cana." Juvia hissed, pulling herself out of the shrub as well. "Get down. They will see us."

"I'm not trying to hide. It's time to go."

"Where are you going?"

"**We** are hitting the bars." Cana grabbed Juvia by the wrist and pulled her along. "It's happy hour time."

"But Natsu-"

"Will be at the guild tomorrow. We don't need to watch him over like mother hens."

"But I don't drink alcohol!"

"It's fine. Just pass me whatever you don't want. Come on! We're burning moon light!"

"Cana, wai~t!" Juvia howled into the night, her feet kicking up dust as the fortuneteller dragged her away.

* * *

Natsu's ears perked up. He turned his head to the bistro window.

"What is it?" Levy asked, looking out of the window as well.

"I thought I heard Juvia's voice."

"Juvia? Really?" Levy saw people walking past the bistro, but none of them were their blue-haired guildmate. "I don't see her."

"Guess I was just hearing things." Natsu returned to his food, shoving a mutton leg into his mouth. "I fogot do aff. Why diff yu ibite me heo?"

Levy chuckled. "Kind of hard to understand you with your mouth full."

"Sobby." Natsu finished chewing. "I asked why you wanted me to come with you."

"I wanted to make up for being so rude to you earlier."

Natsu was confused. "You were rude to me?"

"Remember? Freed and I kicked you out of the library this morning."

"Oh. I forgot all about that." The dragon slayer smiled.

"You did?"

"Yeah. It was probably best that you guys kicked me out. I was only distracting you and slowing things down. Actually I should apologize to you."

"For what?"

"I said I would help translate the book, but all I did was sleep." Natsu dropped his head in shame. "Sorry."

Levy quickly waved her hands. "No. No. It's ok. You don't have to apologize. I know translating can be really boring."

"You're right it is." Natsu said – much to Levy's dismay. "But I still feel bad."

"Well if you want to make it up to me…" Levy reached down into her satchel and pulled out the book. "There's still some pages left to translate…do you want to help me finish it? That is if you can stay up." she smiled.

Natsu's eyes lit up. "Yeah!"

* * *

"Sorry I don't have a table we can use."

"It's ok. We have more space on the floor anyway. Are you sure we won't wake Happy?"

"Don't worry about him. He sleeps through anything."

Seeing as how men were not allowed inside Fairy Hills – despite Natsu having broken into Erza's room a little over a month ago - Levy agreed to finish translating the book at Natsu's house.

She was rightfully hesitant at first – she had never been inside a man's home before – but she found herself slowly relaxing into the idea since she knew Natsu wasn't a pervert.

"Can I look at the stuff you translated already?"

"Go ahead." Levy handed Natsu some of the papers in her hand.

"Thanks."

Natsu's house was much cleaner than Levy expected. Sure a few things – namely clothes – were scattered in random places, but she could see the floors; which made it a huge improvement over her own room.

Despite her neat and clean appearance, Levy's room was surprisingly messy. There was nothing embarrassing out in the open for all to see, but the scribe would be lying if she said visitors – as well as herself – hadn't tripped over or stepped on a book or two on the floor every once in a while.

Natsu told Levy he had just cleaned his house when she brought up its cleanliness, but this was only half true. In actuality Juvia had come over the previous day and helped him clean. For some reason he chose not to let Levy know this.

Natsu thumbed through the pages handed to him by Levy, but he couldn't make heads or tails of any of it. Applications of the arcana. The magical history. Something about bonds. All of it blurred together in a mix of paper and ink that made his head hurt he longer he looked at it.

"I don't understand any of this!" he fumed, scratching his head in frustration.

Levy didn't look up from her page. "Even translated it reads kind of weird. Some of the lines have different interpretations on what was written. I tried to choose the easiest ones to understand."

"There wasn't one easier than this?"

Levy giggled. "Guess not."

Natsu put down the papers and scooted over to Levy's side. "How far are you?"

"I'm-"Levy looked up, blushing when she noticed how close Natsu was to her. She scooted over just a bit to give herself some space. "I'm on the last chapter."

"Mind if I help?"

"That is why we came here." Levy reminded with a grin. She handed Natsu a light pen as well as a few pieces of paper and the two got started.

Levy explained the basics of translation to Natsu, and was pleasantly surprised at how diligent of a student he was. He listened to every word she said intently, even going so far as to ask questions.

"So that word is just another way to write 'here'?" Natsu asked, pointing the foreign text out on the paper.

"Yes." Levy nodded. "There are a couple other interpretations, but 'here' is the most common usage of it in this context. Here, this should help." She handed Natsu a piece of paper. It was a codex of the most common words used in the book as well as what they translated into. "If you need help just ask."

"Ok."

Soon silence slowly overcame the pair. Not because they had nothing else to talk about; they were simply too focused on their work. Out of the blue Natsu asked a somewhat simple question.

"Why did you wanna do this type of stuff, Levy?"

"Do you mean translating?"

Natsu nodded.

"I always enjoyed reading." Levy explained. "And…I guess I found it sort of unfair that I couldn't read books written in different languages."

"Unfair?"

"Mhm." Levy nodded. "Books have so much knowledge in them. What if we're missing out on something important just because we couldn't read the language anymore? I didn't like that, so I learned how to translate ancient text."

"How long did it take to learn?"

"Years, but it was worth it."

"You have a teacher?"

"I met a few people that helped me here and there – Freed was one of them – but for the most part I taught myself."

"Oh. That why you learned Solid Script? So you could translate better?"

"To be honest, Solid Script doesn't really help me translate. I use my basic letter magic for that."

"Then why did you learn Solid Script? There's way stronger magic out there."

Levy smiled ruefully. "I think that's the reason why I chose it."

Natsu was confused by this answer.

"I'm not a really strong person when it comes to fighting. Everyone knows that. Honestly the very thought of battle scares me. The only thing I liked to do was read books, so I wanted a magic that could make use of that. That's why I learned Solid Script.

I can attack with it sure, but the spells aren't really that powerful. They're mostly for diversions, setting traps, or defending myself long enough to run away. I could never fight anyone head on. I'm too weak."

"…I don't think you're weak."

Levy looked up to Natsu. She expected him to be smiling, but his face was completely serious.

"Running away from a fight isn't always bad." He explained. "Everyone has something they aren't good at. I like to fight, but I know everybody in the guild isn't like me…if they were it would get pretty boring after a while." Finally a smile broke through. "You're really smart, Levy…one of the smartest people I've ever met."

Levy blushed and looked away. "Y-you don't have to say things like that."

"Why? I'm telling the truth. Just because you're not the strongest person in the guild, doesn't mean you're weak. You learned a whole new language on your own, and can translate it like nothing. There are people in the guild who can't speak good at all."

"Speak well." Levy corrected with a giggle. She wondered if Natsu did that on purpose.

"See that's what I'm talking about. You're plenty strong. It's just your strength is all up here." Natsu pointed at his temple, once again flashing Levy an even bigger smile.

Levy was overwhelmed by Natsu's praise. No one had ever said anything like that to her before. Sure Jet and Droy normally complimented her for her mental prowess, but somehow praise from Natsu meant just a little bit more.

"Thank you." she said. "...No one's ever said anything like that to me before."

"No problem. I wouldn't say it if I didn't mean it."

Levy blushed again.

The pair eagerly threw themselves back into their work with renewed spirits. This time instead of silence, the air was filled with spirited chatter and even a few bits of laughter from Levy. As the night moved forward, she could feel the onset of sleep setting in. Luckily she had just finished her portion of the last chapter.

She yawned.

"Finished? That was fast." Natsu said.

"Do you need any help?" Levy offered.

"Nah. I've only got a couple of pages left."

"Ok. Let me know if you need help."

"I will."

Levy sat down on the couch, watching as Natsu diligently wrote down the translations. She yawned again, this time her eyelids starting to grow heavy. She laid on her side, stretching across the couch and slowly closing her eyelids. _I'll think I'll take a nap before going back home…_

"Finished!" Natsu shouted in triumph, holding the freshly translated pages in his hand. "Look, Levy! I did-"

Natsu turned to Levy, finding her sleeping peacefully on the couch under his window. Natsu wanted to call out to her again, but he quickly deduced from the bags under her eyes that she had been up for days without much – if any – sleep.

He walked to Levy and scooped her into his arms. She was much lighter than he thought.

He gently placed her in his hammock and stepped back. He grinned when she pulled the pillow closer to her head, shifting her body until she was comfortable.

"Good night, Levy." Natsu turned around and picked up the scattered translated pages of the book. When he flipped through them, he noticed something odd. "Some pages are missing." he said. "Did we drop them somewhere?" Natsu frantically looked around the floor for the elusive pages.

"Come on! Where are they?!"

Natsu heard Levy groan in dissatisfaction and turn the other way in the hammock.

"Sorry." He whispered to her. He resumed looking for the pages, this time much quieter. He couldn't find the papers anywhere. "Guess I'll just have to translate the pages myself. Where's the book?"

Natsu found the tome and flipped to where he noticed the skip, to his surprise it was in the book as well.

"What the hell? It looks like someone tore the pages out." He sat down on the couch. "This sucks." Natsu closed the book. He looked back to Levy, for some reason she was smiling.

_She must be having a really good dream._

Just then, a bright light flashed, and a card appeared over Levy's head.

"Levy too?"

Natsu walked over to her, book in hand, and touched the card.

* * *

When the light faded, Natsu found himself inside of a library. While not as big as the magic library, it was still massive in scale. Stretching at least five stories into the air.

"Betty?!" He called. Soon the elderly woman appeared over the third floor railing.

"It's been awhile." She smiled at Natsu.

"What are you doing up there?"

"Obviously I was getting a book. Hang on a moment and I'll come down." In a flash Betty appeared before Natsu.

"How did you move that fast?!" he exclaimed.

"Just something I learned over the years." She grinned. "Got the next card for me."

"Yeah." Natsu grabbed the card from his coat pocket and handed it to Betty.

She looked over it carefully. "I never expected you to find this one."

"Why? What is it?"

Betty held the card up to him. "The Priestess Arcana."

Natsu grabbed the card and looked over it. He recognized it as one of the arcana Cana showed him before, but he forgot what made it so unique.

"That arcana can be a bit of a tricky one." Betty said.

"What do you mean?"

"You have to be very patient if you want to realize its full potential. You can't be all gung-ho like you normally are. This one takes time to nurture."

Natsu had no idea what Betty was talking about, but he nodded anyway.

"What's that under your arm?" she pointed.

Natsu looked down to the book. "How did this get here?"

"Let me see that."

Natsu handed the book to the elderly woman. When she got a better look at it, her eyes widened.

"Is this-?"

"Yep." Natsu smiled. "It's that book you were telling me about. I found it."

"Where?"

"Inside this secret chamber at the magic library. Looked like it had been there for a long time."

"I had no idea it was still out there." Betty whispered, rubbing her hand along the cover.

"Levy and Freed helped me translate it…but some pages are missing though."

Betty's eyes widened again, this time in shock. "What?! Where?!"

"S-somewhere in the middle." Natsu replied, startled by her tone of voice.

Betty frantically flipped through the book, finding just where Natsu said the pages were missing. "No." she uttered in shock. Her body started to shake.

"Betty, what's wrong?" Natsu asked. "You're acting weird?"

"It's nothing." She closed the book shut. "That's all for today."

"What? But I-"

"I said that's all!" she shouted.

Natsu nearly jumped back in surprise.

"I-I'm sorry." She apologized. "Just…I'll see you next time."

"Ok." Natsu reluctantly accepted.

Betty waved her hand, and in a flash Natsu was gone from the library. She reopened the book back to where the pages were missing. Tightly clenching the sides of the book tightly as her hands shook. "I sealed those pages. There is no way someone found them. Who could have-" Betty's eyes widened in realization before narrowing in anger. She gritted her teeth, throwing the book across the library in her rage.

"Dammit!"

* * *

Levy sat against the large oak tree in the clearing as she watched the sun rise. It was a quiet morning, the only sounds being the bird chirping overhead ans the gentle rustling of the leaves and grass by the wind.

Levy deeply inhaled the fresh spring air, letting it fill her nostrils. When she was satisfied she exhaled, letting all of the air back into the world. Her mind starting to drift away into nature, she once again saw the pink and red butterfly float near her.

"Hello again." she smiled. She reached out her hand, but instead of landing like before the butterfly chose to keep flying ahead.

"Where are you going?" Levy asked. She stood up to follow it, but the rays of the sun proved too bright for her.

They shined brightly, Levy losing track of the butterfly's sillhouette in the light. When she covered her eyes, she saw another figure approach, this one human.

"Who's there?" Levy asked, still barely able to see. Though she didn't know who was coming to her, she didn't feel scared or threatened.

The figure inched ever closer, holding out its hand as the light encompassed both of them.

* * *

A mix of cinnamon and fish awakened Levy from her slumber. Shifting around, she opened her eyes towards the sounds of the crackling in her ears.

"Nat…su?" she called weakly.

The dragon slayer stood in his kitchen, frying up a fish that he had caught earlier in the morning – Happy was in the kitchen as well, though he was sitting on the dining table with a fish already in his mouth. Natsu looked over his shoulder to the tired scribe, a smile on his lips.

"Morning." He greeted.

"Morning." Happy muffled through his meal.

"Good morning." Levy yawned. "Why are you in my room? Guys aren't allowed in Fairy Hills."

Natsu and Happy looked at one another briefly, then back to Levy.

"What are you talking about?" Natsu asked.

"You're in our house." Happy stated. "Remember?"

"What? That's not right…I-" Levy turned her body to the side and proceeded to fall out of the hammock and onto the floor. "Ow~." She groaned.

"You alright?" Natsu reached his hand down to Levy, raising her to her feet when she grabbed it. "Getting out of that thing can be tough."

"Yes I'm ok. Thank you."

"You should be more careful." Happy advised.

"Thanks for the warning." Levy deadpanned to the exceed. "I'm sorry." Levy bowed to Natsu. "I didn't mean to stay so long."

"It's cool." Natsu waved off. "I know you've barely been getting any sleep lately."

Levy was surprised by his statement. "How did you know?"

"I can see the bags under your eyes." Natsu pointed.

Levy covered her cheeks in embarrassment.

"You shouldn't say that to a girl, Natsu." Happy said.

"Why not? It's true."

Levy forcefully cleared her throat, getting Natsu's attention. "Like I said. I'm sorry for imposing on you."

"You apologize too much." Natsu said. "I told ya it was cool. Letting you get some sleep is the least I could do for all you've done for me."

"But…I didn't do anything."

"Are you kidding? You did everything! If it weren't for you I would have never found the book, or got it translated. Seriously, Levy, you're the best!"

Natsu smiled wide, but all Levy could do was look away. Her cheeks had flushed red in front of him so many times she had lost count. This was starting to become a problem.

"I-I should get going?" She said quickly.

"Already?" Happy whined.

"Yeah you don't have to leave so soon." Natsu said. "I was thinking we could look over the book again…but I guess if you gotta go then-"

"Actually…" Levy interrupted, her cheeks still red. "I guess I could stay...just a little longer."

"Awesome!" Natsu exclaimed. "We can look at the book after we eat breakfast."

"O-ok." Levy nodded.

"I hope you like fish." Happy smiled.

Levy took a seat at the table. "I don't hate it." She smiled.

* * *

Cana and Juvia's pained moans echoed through the guild hall.

"Long night, you two?" Mirajane tittered.

"I don't want to see another drop of alcohol again." Cana groaned.

"I feel the same." Juvia agreed. Her head was still spinning.

Despite Cana offering to drink whatever Juvia didn't want – which was everything – the rain woman was still somehow goaded by her friend to partake in a few glasses. After her third drink the night became a blur.

Juvia woke up in her room – which was almost completely wet save for her bed and the rock Natsu had given her – the next day with no memory of what happened. Though hearing of a bar downtown being destroyed by what was described as a "spontaneous whirlpool" sounded vaguely familiar to her.

Cana tapped her mug. "Another." She said to Mirajane.

"I thought said that you 'didn't want to see a drop of alcohol again'." The barmaid reminded.

"I don't have to see it to drink it." Cana countered.

Mirajane rolled her eyes at the brunette's flimsy logic. She took her mug, refilled it, and gave it back. "Don't blame me when your liver fails."

Cana raised her mug. "Here's hoping."

She took a sip.

* * *

**It's been a while! To make it up to you guys I kind wrote this "super chapter" to finish off Levy's part of the story. There are some parts I may come back and revise later, but I hope this was worth the wait. Truth is I've been slowly writing this story over time and changing a lot of how the chapters flow. **

**Writing Natsu x Levy has always been sort of a challenge since you basically have to create the relationship from scratch since the to have nothing to build off of in canon, but that also makes it sort of fun. You can take little pieces of their characters and connect them in a way that most people may not think of. So when it comes together its actually a neat little ship. **

**Anyway I will try and make the next update quicker than this one, but sometimes life gets in the way. HOwever I thank all of you for being so patient and again I hope this chapter met expectations. Next up is Lucy!**

**Thanks for reading and let me know what you think by leaving a review/comment! :)**


	15. Key to the Stars I

The birds chirped outside of Lucy Heartfilia's window, heralding the dawning of a brand new day. The celestial wizard rose from her bed, stretching her arms overhead with a smile to greet the day.

"Morning." She called to no one.

"Morning!"

Lucy shrieked in fright. She turned her head and saw Natsu and Happy sitting in the armchair across from her bed.

"You're finally awake." Happy muffled through a mouth full of fish.

"How many times do I have to tell you to stop breaking into my house?!" The blonde screamed.

"Come on." Natsu laughed. "You should be used to it by now."

"Yeah." Happy seconded.

"I'll never get used to this!"

Lucy turned back to the window. "Could you guys at least get out so I can take a bath?" When she turned back around, she suddenly found her face dangerously close to Natsu's. He crawled on to her bed, his eyes were half-lidded and staring directly into hers. Lucy's cheeks heated from the warmth of his body heat.

"Na-Natsu, you're too clo-"

"Why don't we take a bath together?"

Lucy's eyes shot open at the suggestion. "W-what?! What are you talking about?! We can't do that!"

"Why not? We're close enough friends, right? What's wrong with taking a bath together every once in a while? Erza and I used to do it."

"Th-That's different!"

Natsu gently placed his hand on top of Lucy's and pulled her closer to him. The blonde's heart started to beat even faster.

"What do you got to lose?"

His rough hand started to snake up her thigh.

"No." Lucy squirmed, but found herself unable to release the dragon slayer's grasp. Her body started to go numb. "Wait, Natsu. I'm not ready for this…"

Natsu leaned even closer.

"Just relax. I promise it'll feel good."

He puckered his lips. Lucy could no longer resist.

"O…ok. Be gentle..."

Lucy closed her eyes and puckered her lips as well.

* * *

A loud bird's cry shook Lucy awake. She sprung up from her mattress like a corpse being reanimated; her heart racing a mile a minute. She looked around her room, but saw no sign of Natsu and Happy. She was completely alone.

"It was just a dream?"

Without realizing it Lucy touched her lips. Even if what she saw wasn't real, somehow she could recall the the warmth of Natsu's body on hers. Her cheeks started burning red.

She tried to clear her thoughts with a shake of her head, but it didn't work. Frustrated, she stood up from her bed and stormed to the bathroom.

"I need a cold bath."

* * *

"We're back…" Natsu groaned. He fell to floor in exhaustion, Elfman, Juvia, and Evergreen not far behind.

"Natsu, are you ok?"

Juvia helped her friend to his feet, hanging his arm around her shoulder and neck. She was a tad embarrassed at how close they were, but she ignored it for the moment.

"Yeah." The pinkette nodded. "Just need a minute."

"How was the job?" Mirajane asked from behind the bar.

"Horrible." Evergreen complained – her hair was frayed in all directions from the heat. "These two muscle-bound oafs destroyed the carriage we rode in, so we had to walk the entire way back from Hargeon before we could get on the train. Which wouldn't have been so bad if **someone** hadn't suggested we take a detour through the mountains."

"I thought it would be faster." Natsu muttered.

"And now you see what happens when you think."

"Come on, Evergreen." Elfman said in an effort to calm her.

"You shouldn't be so hard on him." Juvia defended. She was holding back her irritation as best she could the entire trip home, but she had finally had enough. "Natsu was only trying to think of the best way to get us home. And if I recall correctly the reason the carriage was destroyed in the first place was because he was protecting **you** from the enemy's attack. You should be thanking him for what he did."

Evergreen's eyes went wide and she quickly looked away from the rain woman with a huff.

Juvia was right of course,but Evergreen would never admit it. During the fighting the sole female of the Thunder Legion had been cornered by one of the beasts they were tasked to hunt. Before it could dig its claws into her, Natsu tackled Evergreen to the ground and the carriage –which was behind her at the time - was shredded instead.

"I didn't need his help. I had the situation well under control." Evergreen retorted. "Besides…" a slight pink appeared on her cheeks. "I already thanked him. Come, Elfman." She grabbed the muscular Strauss sibling by the wrist and shuffled away.

"What the…! Why are you dragging me away?! I didn't do anything!"

"Just shut up and come on! I have an errand I need done."

"She is so rude." Juvia pouted. "Do not worry, Natsu. I appreciate what you did."

"Thanks, Juvia." Just then Natsu's stomach started to grumble. "Foo~d!"

"I can prepare something if you like." Mirajane offered.

"I'll help you." Juvia said.

The rain woman assisted Natsu to the bar. When the dragon slayer sat on the stool, his head immediately crashed to the bar top. Juvia jumped in fright. Apparently she was the only one affected by the noise seeing as how no one else in the guild reacted. She sat next to her friend with worry etched throughout her delicate features. Mirajane on the other hand continued to smile.

She knew very well that this was just how Natsu acted when his stomach was completely empty. It was nowhere near as dramatic as he made it seem, but Natsu Dragneel was nothing if not a showman.

"What'll ya have?"

"Everything."

"One 'everything' coming up." The barmaid tittered. She soon busied herself with cooking – humming all the while.

Juvia kept her eyes on Natsu. For the past month or so she had found herself more involved in the daily goings on with the dragon slayer.

Nearly every morning they would walk to the guild together. Conversing about whatever it is the dragon slayer wanted – which was mostly either food or fighting. He asked Juvia about herself on occasion, but most of the things that exited her mouth had to do with Gray in some form or fashion.

Even if all she talked about was his rival, Natsu still smiled. He was much more interested in the fact that Juvia was talking to him at all rather than who she was talking about.

This sentiment made Juvia happy, but it also a little guilty. She wanted to find other topics to talk to her friend about. She wanted a deeper connection with him. Add to the fact that the two had been going on more jobs together – mostly in groups like their most recent job – and the rain woman was all the more determined to get on better ground with her "good friend".

Mirajane briefly looked over to the rain woman as she washed the meat to be cooked. Ever the perceptive one, the barmaid had a feeling that Juvia was starting to develop feelings for Natsu – whether the rain woman herself realized it or not was an entirely different matter.

Again Mirajane felt herself falling behind. Every time she turned around she found another girl attaching themselves to Natsu for one reason or another.

In addition to Juvia, Erza had started to grow bolder in her advances, Cana seemed more serious than flirtatious at times, and lately she even noticed that Levy was talking to Natsu much more than she ever had in the past.

_Just what is going on lately?_

While Natsu had built connections with others Mirajane was stuck behind a bar, unable to spend more than a few minutes with him a day before he ran off on another job. She briefly thought of visiting his house after guild hours, but ultimately decided against it. She didn't want to be a bother.

"It's not fair." She uttered. She never thought of herself as the jealous type, but that view had been thoroughly tested as of late.

"What's not fair?"

Mirajane noticed Lisanna out of the corner of her eye. She flashed her sister a hollow smile and spoke the first lie that came to her mind.

"I was just thinking how unfair it was that this meat is so tough."

"Do you need help?"

"No that's ok. I can manage."

"If you're sure then ok." Lisanna rose from her seat.

"Where are you going?" her older sister asked.

"On a job. I'll be back tomorrow." Lisanna walked over to her team which oddly consisted of Gajeel, Alzack, Bisca, and Max.

Mirajane waved. "Be safe."

"I will. Bye, Mira."

As Lisanna's back shrank in the distance, Mirajane couldn't help but wonder…

_Does Lisanna still have feelings for Natsu?_

As for Natsu, his cheek remained firmly pressed on the cold bar top. His stomach grumbled louder and louder with each passing second.

"What's taking so long, Mira? I'm dying over here."

"Be patient, Natsu. Making this much food takes time."

Natsu continue to groan as the guild doors swung open. Though he was too lazy to turn his head to see who had entered, Natsu could smell the scent of a familiar sweet perfume in the air. It was Lucy.

"Good morning, Lucy." Mirajane greeted.

"Morning."

"Good morning." Juvia said.

"Morning, Juvia." Lucy yawned. She took a seat one stool over from the rain woman.

"Didn't get enough sleep?" Mirajane teased.

"Is it that obvious? I've been having these really weird dreams lately. They've been kind of messing up my schedule."

"Oh?" Mirajane's lips spread into an impish grin. "Do tell."

"Well, Natsu and Happy were breaking into my room and-"

"Sup, Lucy."

The blonde froze when she heard the dragon slayer's voice. She slowly turned her head, finally realizing that she was indeed sitting right next to Natsu.

"When do you get here?!" she yelped.

"What are you talking about? I've been here the whole time." Natsu deadpanned.

"He has." Juvia confirmed with a nod.

"So what happened in your dream, Lucy?" Mirajane asked hurriedly. She was practically bouncing with anticipation. "Natsu and Happy were in your room and…?"

"Well…" Lucy trailed off. She looked down to Natsu and her cheeks immediately flushed red.

_"I promise it'll feel good."_

Those ominously seductive words still echoed in the blonde's ears. The warmth of his hand on hers, and the smoky smell of his breath also danced on the fringes of her nose.

"You alright?" Natsu asked, obviously unaware of Lucy's internal dilemma.

"I-I'm fine! Just fine! Why wouldn't I be?!"

"You're much louder than usual today." Juvia commented.

"So what about the dream?" Mirajane asked a third time. "What happened?"

"Nothing." Lucy quickly answered.

"But you said-"

"Nothing happened! It was just a stupid dream!" The louder Lucy yelled the redder her cheeks got. She quickly hopped off of the stool and hurried to the request board. "I'm going to look for a job!"

"What is wrong with her?" Juvia asked.

"I'm not sure." Mirajane answered. Then she pouted. "I really wanted to know what happened in her dream. Lucy has the most vivid imagination. Shame on her for keeping me in suspense."

"Maybe she ate a bad breakfast or something." Natsu guessed weakly. "Speaking of food…" his stomach gurgled. "Mira~!"

"I know. I know." The barmaid sighed she went back to cooking.

Juvia giggled at her friend.

* * *

Erza took a deep breath when she stepped out of the train station. Another S-Class job was in the books. For the past number of weeks she was requested to take one job after another with no signs of stopping in sight. This was the last of the requests and she couldn't be happier.

Normally she didn't mind the increased workload if it meant lessening the burden on Master Makarov – the higher pay was appreciated as well – but lately Erza was finding herself a bit morose when leaving the guild. A lot of her jobs had been strictly solo affairs.

There were advantages to solo jobs. They were much more contained than those requiring teams which meant that collateral damage was nowhere near as abundant – though this was entirely dependent of the wizard accepting said job. And she could keep the entire reward for herself, but there were also downsides as well.

Solo missions obviously meant one person could accept them, so Erza had nothing but her thoughts to keep her company while out on the job. This resulted in her growing more and more worried about a certain dragon slayer back at the guild. It had been quite a while since she had spoken to Natsu one on one.

_I wonder how he is doing. No doubt Mira has already attempted to sink her claws into him. Not to mention that I also must be wary of Cana. Something tells me she likes Natsu more than she lets on. What can I do to make up for the time I've been away?_

Just then the redhead was hit by a bolt of inspiration.

_That's the perfect idea! I must hurry to the guild before he leaves again!_

Erza grabbed hold of her massive luggage cart and blazed through the Magnolia streets.

* * *

Lucy feverishly looked over the request board.

She had been standing there for well over an hour and was no closer to finding a job. In all honesty she really wasn't looking for one. Her rent had been paid for the month, and she had enough jewel saved up to satisfy her for the next month or so. She just needed to get away from the bar, or more specifically…Natsu.

That morning was not the first time she had a dream about her hot-headed partner. Randomly over the past number of weeks Lucy Heartfilia would wake in the middle of the night, searching her room for Natsu.

In her dreams they would either be in her room, in his house, in the guild's library, out on a job, or just about any place that was away from prying eyes. Things would always start out with their normal banter before the mood would almost immediately shift to one similar to her dream that morning.

Natsu would inch himself closer and closer, and Lucy could not help but find herself moving to his rhythm. They would always come close to kissing, but just before they did the deed Lucy woke up.

While at first relieved by her mind chickening out at the last moment, Lucy slowly started to get disappointed the more it happened. Her denial in her dreams began to manifest into a thinly veiled longing while she was awake.

She looked over to the bar. Natsu was shoveling the food Mirajane had cooked for him into his mouth. Juvia sat beside him, the slightly anxious look on her face anticipating the moment Natsu would no doubt choke. Mirajane smiled as she normally did.

"Hey, Lu. What's up?"

Lucy nearly jumped out her skin when Levy called out to her.

"Are you ok? I didn't mean to startle you."

"You're fine. I just need to pay more attention." Lucy reassured with a smile. "Sorry for freaking you out."

"Don't worry about it. Here's your short story back."

Levy reached into her satchel and pulled out a small stack of papers. She handed them to Lucy.

"Thanks. What did you think of it?"

"I thought it was good. I added some notes in the margins. Nothing major, just a few things that I think will help it really pop."

"What would I do without you, Levy?"

"Let's hope we never have to find out." The scribe giggled. "So why are you planting roots in front of the request board? Trying to break Nab's record?"

Lucy giggled at the large man's expense. "No. I just needed to get away from Natsu."

"What did he do this time?"

"He didn't do anything. At least not yet. It's kind of complicated."

"Oh. I see. Well if you need to talk I'm here."

"I know. Thanks, Levy."

"Don't mention it. Well I'm off. Team Shadowgear's got a job."

"Good luck."

"Thanks. You too."

The two parted ways with a smile and a wave.

As Levy rendezvoused with Jet and Droy she spared a passing glance at Natsu. The dragon slayer caught her stare and briefly stopped eating to wave at her. She returned it. He tried to say hi but his mouth being filled with food made that feat a more than a bit messy. This prompted scoldings from both Mirajane and Juvia.

Nonetheless Levy giggled and said hello back.

She tried to play it cool in front of Lucy, but inside Levy was storm of emotion over Natsu as well. They hadn't spoken much since they translated the book on the Arcana. Though in that little time they shared, Levy noticed things about Natsu that she hadn't before.

For years she thought he was just a destructive hot-head. Sure he was also a kind-hearted person and would do anything for his friends, but you'd quicker see Natsu destroying a house than debating with someone over the finer points of literature.

However, since their adventure in the Magic Library Levy didn't know what to make of him. Natsu was still impulsive and a bit too cocky for his own good, but he was also sympathetic and surprisingly thoughtful. He could even be downright charming when he wanted to be.

When Levy thought of the night they spent translating as well as the breakfast they shared the next day, she smiled to herself. It had been awhile since she had so much fun.

"Levy!"

The bookish bluenette turned around and saw Jet and Droy standing in the doorway waiting on her.

"What's wrong?" Droy asked. "You spaced out."

"You wanna skip the job?" Jet offered.

Levy shook her head. "No. I'm fine. Let's hurry to the station."

"You're the boss." Jet replied. He and Droy followed their team leader out of the guild and towards the train station.

"What happened back there?"

"I don't know. She was completely tuned out. I had to call her name like five times."

Jet and Droy walked a few paces behind Levy, whispering just high enough where they could hear each other, but low enough where Levy wouldn't hear them.

"Call me crazy, but I think she was staring at Natsu." Jet implied.

"You're crazy. Why would she be looking at that guy? It was a just a coincidence."

When the trio reached the market district, a speeding Erza zoomed towards them. The redhead uttered a quick greeting to the three as she passed by, a cloud of dust trailing behind her.

"Looks like Erza's back." Jet stated.

"I'm surprised she can move that fast lugging all of that stuff around." Droy commented.

Levy nodded in agreement.

* * *

"I've returned!"

Erza burst into the guild with her usual bluster. She was greeted by her friends.

"Welcome back." Mirajane smiled.

"I hope things went well." Juvia said.

"Dey Erfh."

"Don't talk with your mouth full, Natsu." The redhead scolded.

"Swwy." The dragon slayer apologized.

"Is the master in?"

"He had a meeting in Era. I can take your job report if you want." Mirajane said.

"Thank you." Erza handed Mirajane the report and walked to the request board.

"You're going on another job?" Mirajane asked in surprise. "You just got back."

"I'll rest later. There is still much to be done."

"She is certainly a hard worker." Juvia commented.

Mirajane sighed. "Too hard if you ask me. I fear she'll wear herself out."

"Who? Erza? No way." Natsu interjected. "She's almost got as much stamina as I do. There's no way she'll get tired after going after a few S-Class jobs."

Mirajane giggled. "I'm glad you think so."

Lucy was still half-heartedly perusing the board when Erza appeared.

"Hello, Erza."

"Hello, Lucy. How are you doing today?"

"Pretty well I guess. How was the job?"

"It was fine. A bit too boring for my liking, but beggars can't be choosers. Have you been standing here the entire time?"

"Yeah." Lucy laughed sheepishly.

"If you can't find a job, don't hog the board. Other people need to see it as well."

Lucy's spirits dampened at the redhead's scolding. "R-right. Sorry."

Erza glanced to her friend. "The bags under your eyes. Have you been having trouble sleeping?"

"Something like that."

"A few months ago I received a potion recipe from a vendor that will supposedly cure insomnia. I'll let you borrow next time I come into the guild. Just remind me."

"I will. Thanks, Erza." Lucy smiled nervously. _She just wants me to test it!_

"You're welcome."

Lucy looked back to the board. "You're going on another job?"

"Yes. I'm looking for one that only requires two people."

"Two?" Lucy raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

Erza glared at Lucy. "Is that really any of your concern?"

"N-no! I was just curious."

"If you must know I was planning on bringing Natsu with me."

"Natsu?" Lucy repeated.

"Is that a problem?"

"N-no, ma'am! It's not!" Lucy yelped.

Erza found the job she was looking for – a simple clearing out of bandits. "Have a good day, Lucy."

"Y-yeah. See you later, Erza."

Erza returned to the bar. "Natsu."

The dragon slayer looked to her with wide eyes. He swallowed the fish in his mouth before answering. "What's up, Erza?"

"I found us a job. We're leaving immediately."

Natsu was hesitant. "I don't really feeling like going on a job right now."

"That was not a request." Erza suddenly grabbed the dragon slayer by the collar and dragged him away.

"Wait! Erza! Let me go!" Natsu struggled. "At least let me finish eating!"

"You can eat once we arrive at the job."

Mirajane wanted to say something, but she could only put her head in her hand and sigh. There was no stopping Erza when she got like this. _Must she be so stubborn? _

Juvia nervously followed after the pair. Normally she wouldn't question any of Erza's actions, but in this instance she felt she had to at least say something. "Um…E-Erza…I don't think Natsu wants to-"

"He doesn't want to what?" Erza stopped walking and scowled at the rain woman. What meager courage Juvia had in that moment quickly evaporated.

"N-nothing." She bowed. "Have a safe trip."

Erza smiled. "Thank you. We shall return later on today." She started walked again, Natsu still dragging on the ground.

"Wait, Erza! No! Stop!" He pleaded. "Juvia, hel~p!"

"I'm so sorry!" Juvia apologized. "Please forgive me, Natsu!"

As Natsu frantically searched for someone to help him, he caught a glimpse of Lucy by the request board and calmed down. For some reason she looked sad.

* * *

"Left!"

"I see him!"

Natsu dodged the axe swing of a bandit and punched him back into his comrades. Next to him Erza battled the horde with her Flame Empress armor.

The job entailed the removal of group of bandits - calling themselves Griffon Fang - located outside of a town called Foxglove. Their hideout was located deep in the woods, but Natsu and Erza were able to locate them easily with the help of one of the victims who hired them for the job. Erza wanted to go in quiet, but on a whim she let Natsu take point.

As such the two stormed the hideout, taking their enemies by surprise. Natsu wanted this job done as quickly as possible.

As he and Erza battled the numerous criminals, Natsu couldn't help but think about Lucy. _She's been pretty weird lately. I wonder what's up._

With all the craziness of the Arcana – among other things – Natsu finally realized that he hadn't spent much time with his partner lately. It made him feel a little guilty. He hadn't even "visited" her house in almost two months.

Erza noticed Natsu's somewhat sluggish movements during the battle. It wasn't enough for their enemies to notice, but she was still worried. She had hoped that being on this type of job together with her would make him happy, but once again Erza forced her own expectations on someone else.

_I was being too forceful again. _She lamented.

When the leader of the bandits fell to the ground in defeat, the job was done. Natsu dusted off his hands and clothes, while Erza switched out her Flame Empress armor for her standard Heart Kreuz attire.

"That takes care of these jerks. Let's head back and-" When Natsu turned around he was surprised at the sight of Erza bowing before him. "Um…Erza…what are you doing?"

"I'm sorry, Natsu. I should not have forced you to go on this job with me. You clearly weren't interested but I foolishly ignored your concerns and did what I wanted. If you want, you may strike me for my callousness."

"I'm not gonna do that!" the dragon slayer refused.

"Go on. Do it. I swear I won't retaliate."

_Yeah right. I'm not falling for that one._ Natsu grabbed Erza's shoulders and raised her from upright her bow. "I'm not gonna hit you, Erza." he said again. "I mean yeah at first I didn't wanna go, but after seeing the looks on the people's faces when we arrived in town, I knew we had to help them out." He smiled. "I almost forgot about that."

Erza returned his smile. "You're right. We helped people today. We should take pride in that."

"Yeah." Natsu nodded.

"Even so I still feel bad about forcing you here against your will. Let me make amends by treating you to dinner."

Natsu's eyes lit up. "Really?!"

"Yes. You never finished your meal at the guild. Feeding you is the least I can do." Her eyes then narrowed. "But don't get carried away. I only have so much money I'm willing to spend."

Natsu smiled wide. "Deal!"

Erza's glared softened and she smiled again. "Then let's get going. We can eat after we report back to the client." She started to walk out of the hideout.

"Right behind ya."

* * *

Lucy tossed and turned in her bed the next morning. After a couple of hours of loitering in front of the request board she decided to go home and work on her novel. Unable to get much work done because of her clogged mind, Lucy ultimately decided to turn in early.

As she resettled into her pillow with the call of the birds, she heard a dull tapping on her window. Lucy turned and saw Natsu and Happy outside, their faces firmly pressed against the glass.

"Morning, Lucy!" The exceed chirped.

"Let us in!" Natsu requested.

The blonde looked at them silently for a few seconds before rolling back over.

"Hey! What's the big idea?!" Natsu shouted.

"How rude!" Happy added.

Lucy covered her ears with her pillow to drone out their shouts. _This is just another dream._ She told herself. _Don't give in, Lucy. If you let them inside things will just get weird again. Just close your eyes. When you open them again it will be morning and those two will be gone just like before._

The banging continued.

"Lucy! Come on! Let us in!"

"Aye! We've been out here forever!"

Lucy could no longer take the noise and sat up in a rage.

"Will you two shut up and go home alrea-"

Just then Natsu and Happy burst through the window. The pair fell onto Lucy's bed then rolled to the floor, leaving wood and broken glass all over their friend's blanket.

"We're in now, Happy." Natsu smiled.

"Aye."

"You broke my window, you idiots!" Lucy shouted. "If this weren't a dream I'd kill you!"

"Well actually if it was a dream you could." Happy corrected.

"Shut it, cat!"

Happy fell silent.

"You're wide awake." Natsu said.

"No I'm not." Lucy denied. "If I was then this wouldn't hurt." She pinched her cheeks as hard as she could.

"What are you doing?"

"Pinching my cheeks so I can wake up." Lucy answered.

"…Doesn't that hurt?" Happy asked.

After a few seconds Lucy let go and started rubbing her face. "Yes." She said in pain, tears welling in her eyes. She then came to a realization. "Wait…that hurt? That means…I'm not dreaming."

"That's what I just told you." Natsu replied.

Suddenly the air darkened. Natsu and Happy started to quake in fear as they slowly looked up to Lucy. Her eyes burning red with anger, she rolled up her pajama pant and loomed over the two.

"You better have a good reason for breaking into my house so early in the morning." The blonde threatened, ready to unleash her patented Lucy Kick should their answer displease her.

"We wanted to go on a job!" Natsu yelped in fright.

Lucy started to calm down. "A job?"

"A-aye." Happy nodded in terror. "We haven't gone on one in forever, and you looked down yesterday so we thought going on a job might help cheer you up! Please don't kill us!"

Natsu and Happy braced themselves for Lucy's attack. When she saw their frightened faces she took a breath, and small smile slowly appeared on her lips. "Ok." She said.

"Ok?" Natsu asked, he and Happy were still scared at what she might do.

"I'll go." Lucy accepted.

Natsu and Happy looked at each other with joy. "Yay!" the exclaimed.

"You guys aren't off the hook." The blonde quickly reminded. "While I'm getting ready you two are going to clean up this mess you made and fix my window. Got it?"

Natsu and Happy saluted. "Yes Ma'am!"

"Good." Lucy grabbed one of her keys and summoned Virgo.

"You called, Princess?" the maid asked.

"I need you to make sure these two do what they are supposed to do and clean up, ok, Virgo?" Lucy requested.

"Yes, Princess." Virgo bowed.

"Thanks, Virgo. If they get out of line you can punish them."

Lucy's sinister grin sent shiver down the pair's spine. Virgo's eyes lit up.

"Yes, Princess!"

Lucy heard Natsu and Happy's whining as well as the crack of Virgo's whip as she entered the bathroom. Smiling as she leaned against the door, a card appeared over her head.

"Alright! Let's get ready for the day!"

* * *

**After 5 long months, a new chapter! Sorry for the long delay. It was just a mix of writer's block, work, and other stories getting in the way. Thanks all of you fo being so patient. I don't know when the next chapter will be up, but hopefully it will be sooner than this. As voted months and months ago, this is the start of Lucy's arc.**

**As always leave a comment/review letting me know what you think. Thanks for reading! :)**


	16. Valentine's Day: Prologue

**This is the prologue to the Valentine's Day special I have been planning for about a year. I meant to post this last year, but obviously that didn't pan out so i thought now was a good a time as any. Don't worry I'm still working on the rest of the story, i just thought it would be nice to do a little detour.**

**This takes place not long after the girls have already moved in to the house.**

* * *

"Is everyone present and accounted for?"

"I'm here."

"Me too."

"I'm here as well."

"Really didn't have anything better to do. All the bars are closed."

"Good, then let the meeting commence!"

"I have a question."

"Yes, Lucy, you have the floor. What is your question?"

"Why are you all in **our** room?"

Lucy Heartfilia's question was indeed a valid one. It was the middle of the night and Erza Scarlet, Mirajane Strauss, Juvia Lockser, Cana Alberona, and Lisanna Strauss had all but forced themselves into the room belonging to her and Levy McGarden.

"Yeah I was wondering that too." Levy spoke up.

"Where else would we conduct the meeting?" Erza questioned. From the look on her face it seemed that her question was the easiest one in the world. "We certainly couldn't do it in mine. It's right next to Natsu's."

"That's not-"

"Couldn't use mine either." Cana interrupted Lucy. "It's kind of on the messy side."

"**Your** side is messy." Juvia quickly corrected. The fortuneteller smiled sheepishly at the remark.

"As for us we just followed after Erza." Lisanna smiled.

"Whatever she was involved in seemed pretty fun. We couldn't help but get swept along for the ride." Her older sister giggled.

Lucy sighed. Obviously she wasn't going to get a good answer from the group. "Ok. So what is this secret meeting about?"

"Why Valentine's Day of course." Erza proudly informed.

"Valentine's day?" Levy was even more confused than before.

Erza shook her head in disappointment "You two really must pay more attention. I've been hinting at this all week."

"This is literally the first I've heard of it." Levy stated.

"Same here." Lucy nodded.

"Impossible." Erza argued. "I had special notes made explicitly detailing the time, place, and purpose of this meeting."

"I never got one."

"Me either."

Cana raised her hand. "Uh, yeah. I don't remember getting one of those."

"Neither did I." Mirajane revealed.

"I didn't get one either." Lisanna added.

"I never received one." Juvia said last.

"You were the one I asked to make them!" Erza loudly reminded the rain woman. "You didn't pass them out to the others?!"

Juvia thought on this reveal for a few seconds before widening her eyes in realization. "Oh! Do you mean those paper hearts?"

"Yes those." Erza said through clenched teeth.

"I didn't know they were for all of us."

"Well if you didn't hand them out like I instructed, then what did you do with them?"

Juvia smiled sweetly. "I gave them to Natsu."

"You what?!"

Cana and Mirajane laughed at Erza's frustration.

"They were just so lovely that I had to give them to him." The rain woman explained.

"You're saying Natsu knows about our secret meeting?!"

"If he doesn't then he certainly will if you keep yelling like that." Cana commented.

"I wouldn't worry about Natsu waking up anytime soon." Mirajane giggled.

"Yeah. He sleeps like a log." Lucy said. Levy and Lisanna nodded in agreement.

"What did he do after you gave him the hearts?" Erza interrogated Juvia.

"Well he was a bit put off at first but then he smiled and said he liked them." Juvia swooned. "He's so considerate."

"Did he read them?"

"He was about to…"

Erza's heart rate quickened. If Natsu had truly found out about their plans then it was all over.

"But then he got into a fight with Gray and burned them all up by accident." Juvia sulked.

Lisanna comforted her with a pat on the back. "It's ok, Juvia. At least he said he liked them before burning them."

"I remember that fight." Cana voiced. "It was a good one."

Erza cleared her throat to gather everyone's attention. "Regardless of the circumstances the most important thing now is that we're all here and can conduct this meeting as scheduled. Levy, please take the minutes."

"Um, ok." Though confused, the petite script wizard grabbed the pen and pad from her desk and waited for Erza to begin.

"Now as you all no doubt know tomorrow is Valentine's Day. It is a day where love blossoms and two people are able to affirm their true feelings for one another in the most wondrous of ways. Truly Valentine's Day is a most special day."

"Get to the point." Cana heckled. "I'm too sober to sit through exposition."

"Don't rush me!" Erza snapped. She cleared her throat again. "As I was saying, Valentine's day is an event that should be spent with the one you most care for." Her face began to turn red. "And as maidens in the height of our youth, this year is most important because-"

"She wants to know who is going to spend Valentine's Day with Natsu." Mirajane interrupted. She knew if she let Erza continue, the knight would have passed out from embarrassment.

"Y-yes. That is correct. Thank you, Mirajane."

"Is it really that important?" Lucy looked away, her cheeks starting to turn red.

Levy quickly nodded, her cheeks also red. "Lu's right. It's just another day. It's really nothing special."

"Ok Lucy and Levy are out of the running." Erza said plainly.

"Wait!" the pair shouted, their faces getting redder.

"So you **do** want to participate?"

They nodded slowly.

"Good. Now who will be first to plead their case?" Erza looked around and saw that Cana had her hand raised. "Yes, Cana? You wish to tell us why you should be the one who gets to spend the day with Natsu?"

"I had a question actually."

"Go ahead."

"Why don't we just let Natsu decide? It's not like he's a piece of property or a pet. He's a big boy. He can make his own decisions."

Erza chuckled with a knowing grim. "I hadn't pegged you for the naïve type, Cana."

The fortuneteller narrowed her eyes. "What are you talking about?"

"It is precisely because Natsu **can't** make his own decisions that we are doing things this way."

"You lost me."

"Think of it like this." Mirajane asserted. "If we simply asked Natsu to pick one of us, do you really think he'd be able to?"

Cana pondered this question for a moment. "You're right. He wouldn't. He'd say 'picking one of you would hurt everyone else's feelings' or something like that. He's such a bleeding heart. It's kind of cute."

"Exactly. Which is why** I** should be the one who spends Valentine's day with him."

"And why is that?" Erza asked.

"I know Natsu best. I've also known him the longest."

"You knowing him best is up for debate. As for your second reason, we've all known Natsu just as long as you have."

"Lucy and Juvia haven't." The barmaid pointed out.

"It's not my fault I joined the guild after you guys!" Lucy shouted in defense. _Wait. Why do I even care about this?_

Erza stuck out her chest. "Natsu and I have a bond forged through years battle and companionship. That obviously makes me the best choice."

"If by 'forged through battle and companionship' you mean 'he's afraid of me so he does whatever I say' then I yes would agree." Mirajane argued.

"What nonsense. Natsu isn't afraid of me."

"He is actually." Lucy spoke up.

"All of us are." Levy added with a nervous smile.

"Yep." Cana nodded.

"You can be pretty scary sometimes." Lisanna said. Juvia nodded in agreement.

Erza was devastated by this "sudden" revelation. "Are you afraid of me as well, Mira?"

"Yes, but only a little." The barmaid smiled.

"I had no idea." Erza uttered in despair. "What have I done to earn such a unsightly reputation?"

The girls looked to her in disbelief. _Did she really just ask that?_

"There's also the fact that you can't even say the word 'date' without turning into a tomato." said Cana.

"Absurd!" Erza contended. "I can say the word…d-d-date!" The moment she finished the word her face flushed beet red

"Told ya."

"Well I think-"Lisanna began.

"I will be the one who spends Valentine's Day with Natsu!" Juvia interjected.

Erza was intrigued by the rain woman's vigor. "Really? What qualifies you to be the one?"

"Because I love him."

The room fell into a stunned silence. The girls couldn't believe their ears.

"Oh my."

"She really said it."

"I had no idea you felt that strongly, Juvia."

"I don't know what to say."

"She is bolder than I gave her credit for."

"W-wow."

Juvia basked in the glow of her housemates' shock. "I win."

Erza cleared her throat in an attempt to calm her nerves. It didn't work very well. "W-well even if you l-l-l…feel that way about Natsu, that's not enough reason for you to be the one."

"Do you love him as well, Erza?"

Steam whistled from Erza's ears. "That's not the topic of discussion right now!"

"Since you can't confirm your feelings I'm the only logical choice."

"No it should be me." Mirajane contended.

With that the three began to loudly state their cases over one another. Lucy and Levy meekly joined in, but the bulk of the arguing was between Juvia, Mirajane, and Erza. Poor Lisanna could hardly get a word in edgewise.

Cana - who had remained silent during the entire exchange - had finally had enough. She whistled as aloud as she could, grabbing everyone else's attention.

"If we keep bickering like a bunch of children Valentine's Day is going to pass us by and no one'll get Natsu."

"Then how do you propose we settle this?" Erza prompted.

Cana smiled, reached into her pants' pocket and pulled out a deck of blank cards."Simple. We leave it up to fate." She took seven cards off of the top of the deck and held them up to the others. In a few seconds a number ranging from one to seven appeared on each face of the card. Cana placed them face down in the middle of the circle they all sat in.

"I'm afraid I'm having trouble following."

"Oh I see." Levy realized. "Whoever draws number one gets to spend Valentine's Day with Natsu, right?"

"Yeah, but it's not just that." explained Cana. "This method also decides the order."

"Order?" Lisanna questioned.

Cana nodded. "Erza and Mira were right when they said that Natsu wouldn't be able to pick just one of us. So what if he didn't have to?"

"I get it. By 'order' you mean that each of us spends time with Natsu tomorrow based on the number they drew?" Lucy surmised.

"Bingo."

"I never thought of that." Erza said in astonishment. "An ingenious plan, Cana."

"Perks of being sober."

"This way no one gets left out." Mirajane smiled.

"Do you think Natsu will be able to handle this?" Levy worried.

"He's had to deal with worse." Lisanna said.

_I will be number one!_ Juvia declared.

"Now we just mix them all up." With a snap of Cana's slender fingers the cards flipped over to show their numbers one last time before facing back down. They then shuffled around faster than anyone's eyes could see. When Cana snapped her fingers again the cards finally stopped. "Alright. Everybody pick a card. No peeking."

Each girl placed their hand on a card.

"Ready? Here we go. On three. One…two…three!"

They simultaneously flipped their cards.

Erza grinned triumphantly at her number. "It seems luck was on my side this night."

Mirajane smiled as well. "I'm fine with this."

"I guess this is ok." Lucy said. "It's not too high, but it's not too low either." She was still very nervous about the entire situation.

"At least it will give me time to think about what to do." Levy noted.

Lisanna nodded in approval at her card. "I think my number is good."

"I wanted number one." Juvia grumbled.

"I wish mine was a little higher, but what can you do?" Canna shrugged. "Every good with the order? No do-overs."

Everyone nodded.

"Actually we must make one other rule." Erza announced. "To keep things even amongst the seven of us, everyone has a three hour time limit in which to spend with Natsu. We don't want to overwhelm him anymore than we already do. Agreed?"

"Agreed." The others said in unison.

"Good. Meeting adjourned. You are all dismissed. Hand me the minutes, Levy."

"Here you go."

"Thank you." The girls all started to leave as Erza looked over the notepad. When she finally looked up some couple of minutes later she noticed Lucy and Levy still in the room. "What are you two still doing here? I said the meeting is over. Return to your room."

"This **is** our room." They reminded.

* * *

**This will be a pretty short little Omake with about 3 parts (including this one). Like I said before I wanted to post this about a year or so ago, but I missed the deadline so to speak. What do you guys think so far? I will post the other parts the day before Valentine's and the day of so hopefully you will all be looking forward to that.**

**As always leave a comment/review letting me know what you think! Thanks for reading! :)**


	17. Valentine's Day: Chapter I

The sun rose on another day. The bright pierced through Natsu's curtains as they always did, and just like he did every morning he rolled away to avoid them. Oh how he hated having a room facing the east.

The birds sang their songs of morning outside, providing the soundtrack for the moment Natsu finally chose to get up.

He swung his legs over the side of his bed and rubbed his eyes, letting out a loud yawn that broke the silence around him.

When a low moan escaped from under his covers, Natsu pulled back the blanket to reveal a sleeping Juvia. A short time ago he would have jumped at this and told her to get out, but he simply said good morning to her and proceeded to put on his pants. Before walking into the den he looked in his closet.

"Everything's ready. I hope they like it."

When he stepped out of his room the scent of freshly cooked meat hit his nose like a hammer. His mouth watering in an instant, Natsu hurried to the kitchen.

He hopped over to the table and sat down before his banquet: meat, fruit, bread, fish, noodles, and eggs. Mirajane and Lisanna had outdone themselves this time. He clapped his hands together, giving thanks to the various dieties above for this meal.

Shoveling a leg of boar into his mouth, Natsu noticed something odd. He was the only one at the tale.

"Where is everyone?"

It was an odd sight indeed. He may have always been the first one up, but the girls usually appeared soon after - or "much later" if Cana was involved.

"Heddo?"

"Don't talk with your mouth full, Natsu"

Natsu looked to his left just in time to see Erza enter the den from the hallway.

**ERZA**

"Where's everyone else? Are they still sleeping?"

"They all had errands to run this morning. You'll be in my care for the time being, Now hurry and finish your breakfast. Time is short."

"Short for what?"

Erza sighed. "Just finish eating."

"Alright. Alright. Don't rush me."

Around thirty or so minutes later Natsu had finished all the food on the table. Part of him felt bad since the others wouldn't get any, but he surmised they probably all ate before they left anyway.

"That took forever. I told you we don't have much time." She grabbed Natsu by the arm and pulled him from the table. "Hurry and get dressed!"

She threw him into his room, the door slamming shut from the force of her throw. She waited for him, her foot impatiently tapping on the floor. "Hurry up, Natsu! We're going to miss the train if you keep wasting time."

"You didn't mention anything about riding a train!" Natsu shouted through the door. "Where are we going anyway?"

"You'll see when we get there."

"But-"

"Just come on!"

"Ok! Ok!" Natsu stepped out of his room fully dressed.

"Finally. Let's get going." Erza grabbed Natsu by the scarf and dragged him out of the house and into town. As Natsu struggled in the knight's iron grip, he noticed almost everyone in town was coupled up in some form or fashion. Well considering what day it was he didn't find the sight all that odd. Although he still had no idea where Erza was taking him.

When he saw the sign of the station draw closer he began to frown.

"Do we really have to get on that thing to get wherever we're going?"

Erza grabbed their tickets. "Yes. It is the quickest way to our destination. Now stop dawdling and get on!" she pushed the reluctant dragon slayer onto the train. They found their seats near the back of the second car.

Erza sat down first. With a warm smile she patted the seat next to her, beckoning Natsu to come over. With a reluctant expression Natsu accepted the invitation and sat next to the knight. This earning him a dissatisfied scowl from Erza.

"Is there something wrong with sitting next to me?"

"No. I just hate trains."

"I know, but we won't be on for long. Just bear with it for now, ok?"

"Fine." he grumbled.

Like clockwork when the train started to move Natsu's motion sickness set in. His grumbling stomach causing him extreme discomfort, he began leaning over the side of the seat. Erza grinned knowingly, this was the moment she had been waiting for.

"Natsu."

"Huh?" He looked to be on the verge of passing out.

Erza patted her lap. "Why don't lie down and get some rest? It might make you feel better."

"Alright. Thanks." Natsu lurched over, nearly falling over into Erza's lap - not that she minded. Natsu groaned in pain, his arms wrapped around stomach to stall the pain.

"It's ok." Erza comforted, her fingers brushing through his hair. "We'll be there soon."

* * *

Natsu opened his eyes just as the train finally rolled to a stop in Onibus station. His sensitive nose caught the distinct scent of strawberries and he remembered just where he was.

The firmness of Erza's lap was nice, but he knew he had to get quickly before the train took off again. He rose from this warmth of his 'pillow' and was greeted by the knight's smiling face.

"Are you awake?"

Natsu nodded. "Thanks for the rest. I do feel a bit better."

Erza smiled. "I'm glad to hear that."

In truth part of her wished he would rest on her a little longer, but she only had three hours to spend with him and she'd rather not waste them on watching him sleep - though that was an idea for another time.

"Let's disembark before the train leaves again." Once again Erza grabbed Natsu by the scarf and dragged him.

"Wait, Erza! I can walk on my own!

"Of course. Forgive me."

Erza lifted Natsu to his feet.

"You still haven't told me where we're going." he reminded while dusting himself off. "Are we going on a job?"

"It's a surprise, but if we don't hurry we'll miss it." Erza took off at a brisk pace, and Natsu followed.

The pair soon arrived at the Onibus Theater. Natsu's stomach turned again.

"Is this the 'surprise' you had planned?" he asked, dreading the answer.

"It is." Erza whipped around to face him, an bright smile on her face. "We're going to be in a play!"

Natsu's fears had come true. "What kind of play is it **this** time?"

"I'm so glad you asked." Erza reached into her breastplate, pulling out a rolled up theater poster.

"You've had that in there the whole time?"

Erza ignored his question, and presented to him the unrolled poster. "This is the play we will be taking part in."

On the parchment was a picture of a man and woman standing back to back. The man wore a simple cloak with a hood, while the woman wore armor similar to Erza's Armadura Fairy. They were also holding weapons. The man was holding a long sword while the woman stood ready with a bow and arrow. The final piece of the picture was an ominous looming over the both of them with a sinister smile.

Natsu's eyes floated to the title at the top of the poster. "The Princess Knight." He read aloud.

"It's an adaptation of one of my favorite books." Erza informed. She rolled the poster up and put it back in her breastplate. "It's tells the story of two warring kingdoms and how the princess of one kingdom and a hired assassin sent to kill her from the other kingdom fall in love. It's an epic tale filled to the brim equal parts romance and action."

"If you say so." Natsu shrugged. He didn't do any reading but from the look on Erza's face she was clearly excited to be a part of the production. He thought it best not to make a bit fuss over it if he wanted to live. "What are we doing in this play, anyway?" He couldn't help but premptively grimace at her answer. Every time they came to Onibus theater things had a way of going awry very quickly.

"There's no need to make that face." Erza reassured. "You and I are just extras. There's nothing to worry about-"

"There you are!"

Natsu and Erza watched as the short Theater director ran up to them as fast as he could. He was nearly in tears. Clearly something had gone wrong...again.

"I've been looking all over for you! Come! Come! The show starts in less than an hour!"

Natsu and Erza were pulled into the dressing room by the rest of the play's crew.

"Here." The costume designer threw them the same attire that the pair on the poster was wearing.

"Excuse me." Erza raised a hand.

"Yes what is it?" The director asked irritably. "We don't have much time."

"These are the wrong clothes. I was told that we would be playing local villagers. This is the exact same outfit the princess wears."

"Ah yes." The director noted. "You see there has been a change of plans."

Erza raised an eyebrow. "What kind of change?"

Natsu sighed. His intuition was correct. "Here we go."

"My leads are running late, something about Valentine's day plans or some such nonsense. As such you two will have to take their place in the first showing."

Erza's face flushed red. "Us…the leads?!" she yelped.

"Yes! Yes! Don't worry we'll have communication lacrima in your ear so you'll know the lines. It will be fine. Now please hurry! The show begins in forty-five minutes." With that the director swiftly exited the dressing room. Leaving Natsu alone with a very nervous Erza.

"I knew something like this would happen." Natsu groaned. "That's why I hate coming here." When he took off his vest he noticed Erza was still frozen in place. "Hey, Erza, what's up? You ok?"

The redhead jumped at her name being called and turned around, a noticeably faulty smile on her lips. "Y-yes! I'm perfectly fine. I was just surprised that we would playing the leads."

"Yeah, but what can you do?" He took his shirt off. "Let's just get this over with so we can do something else."

"R-right."

The two stood back to back as they got dressed for the play. Erza looked over her shoulder, her blush returning when she caught a glimpse of Natsu's body. His torso and abs had little beads of sweat dripping down from the sun outside, and his hair was still somewhat tossed from him sleeping on the train. His body was a sight she had seen many times as they were growing up, but it was only recently that she took notice of just how much he had grown in that time. His muscles were toned and hard, and his back and shoulders had become much broader. Even the scars from countless battles over the years only served to add on to how much he had matured before her eyes.

When he eyes met Natsu's both of them turned around.

"S-sorry!" Natsu apologized. He had the same thoughts as Erza, but he dared not get caught acting on them. He liked breathing.

"It's fine! I-I'll go change in the bathroom!"

"O-ok! I'll be here."

Erza sped out of the dressing room

* * *

Natsu poked his head from out the stage curtain. It was a packed house. "Wow, there are a lot of people out there."

"Well this is a very popular book." The director said. "So it only makes sense that the play would do well in terms of attendance. Today being what it is certainly helps as well."

"I guess you're right."

"Speaking of which. I apologize for putting you and your girlfriend on the spot like this. You must have had other plans."

Natsu blushed. "She's not my girlfriend."

"I see. Well I must-"the director looked to the clock on the wall. "Oh my! It's almost show time! Places, people! The show is about to begin!"

"A-a-are you ready, Natsu?" Erza stuttered. She was wearing a long white and blue dress, the attire of the princess when she first appeared in the story. Her body was shaking uncontrollably and her quivering smile was starting to make Natsu more nervous than he already was.

"You sure you can do this?"

"Y-yes! I am perfectly fine." She laughed nervously.

"If you say so."

The spotlight shined and the narration began. The play was officially underway.

"Long ago. In a land far far away, two kingdoms stood entrenched in a decades long war..."

Erza took a deep breath. "That's my cue. Let's do our best."

"Yeah." Natsu offered his friend a thumbs up. "Break a leg."

"Right. Break a leg." Erza started to run out, but tripped on the bottom of her dress, falling flat on her face before exiting the curtain.

"I didn't mean literally." Natsu winced.

"I-I'm alright!"

Once Erza finally reached the stage, the play proceeded as planned. Despite Natsu and Erza being literal last minute changes to the cast, they carried the story well and made little to no mistakes thanks to the director in their ears.

Just like Erza said the story was a compelling one, filled with loss, triumph, action…and romance. Natsu was actually enjoying himself, and Erza's anxiety seemed all but gone until…

"The battle now over and both countries freed Princess Aphasia and Laron had finally found themselves a moment of silence."

Erza and Natsu sat on a bench looking out at what was supposed to be the horizon of the Shanna Kingdom's green hills.

"I had no idea a sunset could be so beautiful." Erza – speaking as her character – said. "It feels like some wonderful dream."

"I know." Natsu - also in character - replied. "I'm just waiting for us to wake up and still be packed inside that crowded tent awaiting the next battle."

"I feel the same." She reached out and grabbed his hand. "But this is truly the end. The long war is finally over."

Natsu turned his head to her. "That's all because of you. If you weren't so damn annoying we'd still be on the battlefield right now."

"I prefer the term 'determined'." She retorted with a grin. "Are you saying you'd rather experience the ravages of war over a view like this one?"

"I'd 'rather' make money. And since there is no more war, I won't have nearly as much coming in. If the world's at peace then no one needs killing. So congratulations, Princess, for ending war and putting this humble assassin out of a job."

"Don't lose hope, Laron. I'm sure someone is in the market for an idiotic, complaining, womanizing hustler with no discernable skill set outside of killing."

The crowd laughed at the line.

"I'll have you know I can make a mean Vulcan stew." Laron informed.

"I've had better." Aphasia grinned. "Is there anything else?"

Laron leaned in. "I've also been told I'm a damn good kisser. Think there's anyone who could put **that** skill to good use?"

Aphasia leaned in as well. "It's hard to say for sure. I'll have to test it and see. We wouldn't want to give false information."

The two leaned in even closer, their lips parting along the. As their breaths connected, Erza broke character and her heart began to race. She was so lost in her performance that she had forgotten one of the most pivotal scenes in the story.

_The kiss scene! How I could forget?!_

Natsu came even closer, and Erza started to back away.

"What are you doing?!" the director shouted in her ear. "This is the big kiss! This is the most important scene in the book!"

Erza continued to back away. She looked to the crowd. They were starting to catch on to her avoidance.

"I-I'm sorry! My heart is not ready for this! Forgive me!"

With a stiff punch, Erza sent Natsu flying towards a nearby wall.

The crowd was shocked.

Erza gasped. She used way too much power. "Natsu~!"

The dragon slayer screamed as he sailed through the air, his body breaking through one of the load-bearing pillars.

Erza looked up to the ceiling as it began to rumble and break around them. "Oh no…"

"No! It's all ruined!" the director cried.

The crowd evacuated as the theater started to crumble, furiously pushing and forcing each other out of the way.

"I'm so sorry!" Erza bowed.

Natsu landed roughly a mile away from the theater. He could see the people ran out of the theater in a panic. "Well that was a bust. I hope Erza made it out ok."

"Natsu? What are you doing on the ground?"

**LEVY**

The dragon slayer craned his neck upward to see the blue-haired bookworm standing over him.

"Levy? What are you doing here?"

"I asked first." She helped him to his feet. "I'm glad I found you though. We should get going."

"Going where? What about, Erza?!" Natsu looked back to the theater, it was now completely in ruins. From the looks of it everyone had made it out safely - though he could see the theater director on his knees sobbing in the middle of the wreckage. Erza was bowing next to him, no doubt offering to be physically punished for the damage she caused.

"She can take care of herself. Hurry. The train is about to leave." Levy pulled Natsu to the station.

Natsu gulped. "Did you say train?

* * *

Natsu hobbled out of the train. From the lack of color on his face one would assume that he just emerged from the grave. Ahead of him was a concerned Levy.

"Are you alright?"

"Y-yeah." Natsu replied weakly. Stifling the urge to vomit. "Just give me a second." He took a deep breath and stood straight. "Ok…I think I'm good now."

"Are you sure? We can sit down for a minute if you like."

"Nope. If I sit down for too long I'll get dizzy again. Let's just keep moving."

"Ok. If that's what you want."

The pair exited the station.

_I hope Erza is ok._ He thought. _I probably shouldn't have left her back there._ "She's going to kill me."

"Did you say something, Natsu?"

"Huh? Oh no. Just talking to myself."

"As long as you don't answer yourself." Levy giggled.

"Yeah…" Natsu didn't quite get the joke. He looked around. The town they were in looked familiar, but the name escaped him at the moment. "Where are we, Levy?"

"Oshibana. There is a book I want to buy that's only available in a certain shop here."

"Oh."

"Here we are."

Levy had lead Natsu to a store in the middle of town. It wasn't much larger than the buildings surrounding it, but it still managed to make itself stand out from the others with its unique design. A set of stone steps leading to a pair of pillars in front of black wooden door. Natsu's eyes continued trailing upward, falling on a sign that read: "The Librarian's Loft."

"Shall we go in?" Levy smiled.

Natsu nodded. "Yeah. Sure."

Natsu followed Levy up the stairs and opened the door for her. When they entered the shop Natsu realized it was much bigger on the inside than it was on the outside. It had two levels, each with rows upon rows of bookshelves along with places to sit to read said books. Natsu equated it to a much smaller version of the Magical Library.

Levy walked to the clerk at a desk near the entrance. Fumbling around in her satchel for a moment, she pulled out a piece of paper. "Excuse me. Do you have this book in stock?"

The clerk examined the paper Levy held. "That book has been pretty popular lately, but I think we should have one left. One moment please." The clerk opened an archive screen and typed the information written on Levy's paper. Within a matter of seconds the search was complete. "Yes, ma'am, we have one left."

"Can you tell me where it is?"

"Of course. It is in romance. Upstairs in the third row of shelves just past the mystery section." The clerk directed with a smile.

"Thank you." Levy turned to her companion – who was still caught up in the scale of the shop. "Come on, Natsu. I found the book."

"Oh. Right. Lead the way."

The pair walked up the spiral stairs in the center of the shop. When they arrived on the second floor Levy immediately went to where the clerk said her book was located, Natsu on the other hand went the opposite way. Passing by the people sitting at the tables, his eyes caught a sign sticking out from one of the shelves.

"Creatures?" Natsu made a left and went down the aisle. All of the books were alphabetized by what creatures they were about. Wyverns. Vulcans. Lizardmen. Weretigers. Nearly every creature seen throughout the kingdom was chronicled in some shape or form. This got Natsu thinking.

_I wonder if they have…_As soon as he thought this, a shelf labeled "Dragons" came into view.

"Whoa!" Natsu began to run his fingers over the spines of the tomes. There were a surprising amount of them. Enough to fill up close to four rows. After a few minutes of searching he finally saw one that caught his eye. The Dragon's Species Codex.

"What's this one about?" Natsu flipped through the pages. There were a lot of words, but barely any pictures. Natsu quickly put it back on the shelf.

"Natsu?"

Levy came around to where he was. "So this is where you ran off to. You find something?"

"Yeah." He smiled. "Check it out." He held up the book in his hands to her.

"A Brief History of Dragons." She read the title aloud. There was a picture of a dragon roaring on the front of it. It was pretty thin as well. From what Levy saw, it was most likely doubt a children's book. She thought about telling Natsu this, but the bright smile on his face made her reconsider.

"That looks good." she smiled.

"There might be some stuff about Igneel and the other dragons in here."

"Maybe."

"What about you? Did you find the book you came here for?"

"Y-yeah. I did." Levy looked away and began to blush. There was a long, awkward silence between the two as Levy clutched the book to her body.

"…Can I see it?" Natsu asked.

"O-oh! S-sure." Levy held up a small pink book to the dragon slayer. On the cover was a picture of a heart with what looked to be loose chains dangling around it. The title read: Chained Thoughts from a Freed Heart.

"It's a book of poems." Levy informed, her cheeks growing even redder.

"Cool." Natsu smiled. "Do we go pay now?"

"Y-yes."

Natsu lead the way this time as the pair returned to the bottom floor of the shop. They approached the counter, the clerk greeting them both with a smile.

"Did you find what you were looking for?"

"Yeah. Thanks." Natsu placed his book on the counter.

"Is this for the little one at home?"

Levy's ears perked up. "W-what?!" she yelped in embarrassment.

Natsu – not catching on to the clerk's hint – raised an eyebrow. "No? It's for me. I'm not little."

"My apologies, sir." the clerk bowed. She punched the price into the register. "Is this all for you?"

Natsu took Levy's book and placed it on top of his. "This one too."

"Wait, Natsu." Levy protested. "You don't have to-"

"Don't worry. I have enough."

"But that's not…"

Natsu paid the clerk and she handed him his change. "Thank you and please come again."

"Thanks." He handed Levy her book. "Here you go."

"Thank you." Levy said, taking her book with a blush.

"Should we head home?"

"Actually…" Levy began. "I was wondering if we could stay here for a little while and read. Is that ok?"

"Sure." Natsu said. "Not like we have anything else to do."

"I'll find us a place to sit." Levy quickly shuffled back into the shop. Clutching her book tightly to her chest.

When Natsu caught up with her she was sitting on a small couch near the back wall. Natsu sat beside her.

"Not much room on this thing." He grumbled. They were practically on top of each other, with only a hair's space separating them.

"Y-yeah." Levy stammered. "It is a bit tight."

"It's not that bad." Natsu admitted. "At least the cushions are comfy." He smiled and Levy's cheeks heated up again. "Let's get reading."

"R-right." Levy nodded. By the time she opened her book, Natsu was already headfirst into his. He seemed really focused. Levy couldn't help but smile.

A little time passed and Natsu closed his book with a dissatisfied sigh.

"Is something wrong?"

"I didn't learn anything new from this book." Natsu complained. "It's like it was written for babies or something. The pictures were nice though."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Levy apologized. She now wished she had told him about the book earlier so he wouldn't have wasted his money.

"It's not your fault. I should have flipped through it before buying. Lisanna and Lucy are always nagging me about wasting my money. What about your book? Any good?"

"You could say that."

"You said it has poems in it?"

"It does."

"Hm." Natsu looked up to the ceiling in boredom. "Erza's told me about them, but I've never read one before. I wonder what they're like."

Levy began to fidget. "Well…would you like to read some with me?" she asked meekly.

"Sorry I didn't get that. What did you say, Levy?" His full attention now on her. Levy was even more nervous than before - if that was even possible.

"I-I asked if you…if you wanted to read with me."

Natsu smiled wide. "Yeah. That would be awesome. I like listening to you read."

"Y-you do?"

"Yeah. You always make the books sound way better."

Levy relaxed a bit and smiled. "Thank you." She scooted closer to him – Natsu moving his arm behind the sofa to give her more space. Once she was set she opened the book to the page she stopped on.

Natsu raised an eyebrow in confusion. The poem was in the middle in the page, meaning that there was a lot of white space around it. "That's it? It barely fills up the page."

"Poems aren't normally that long. They're usually just quick drabbles expressing whatever the author is feeling at the time."

"And people read these all the time?"

Levy nodded. "Want to try it?"

Natsu shrugged. "Sure. I guess."

Levy turned the page. "Here. Read this one."

Natsu squinted to see the small print. "A Short Love Affair." He read.

"There is a beautiful world where I can see your face,

It exists only between time and space

Time shreds space like worn out fashion,

And leaves us desperate for our precious compassion

Space consumes time without our consent,

And hides the reality that our dreams were once spent

Our love is regained when we meet in between

And there we can dance again in our dream."

"That was good." Levy praised. "You've gotten better."

"Thanks, but I don't really get it." Natsu said. "What does it mean?"

"It's about a person who fell in love, but the time with that person was cut short for one reason or another."

"Did the person they loved die?"

"Possibly. It's all up for interpretation."

"That's kinda sad."

"Let's see if the next one is happier." Levy turned the page. "I'll read this one." When she scanned over the words, her cheeks burned red.

"You alright?" Natsu asked.

"Y-yes. I'm fine." Levy took a big gulp and began to read.

I Want To

I want to kiss your reddish lips

I want to touch your rosy cheeks

I want to hear your lovely voice

Although it can make a loud noise

I will forget all my sorrow

Just to be with you tomorrow

Thinking you're always beside me

Hoping that you'll never leave me

"That was better than the last one." Natsu said.

"Y-yeah. It was." She flipped the page as quickly as she could. "Let's move on to the next one."

Natsu and Levy took turns reading one poem after another, losing all track of time. Slowly but surely, Natsu's eyelids started to get heavy. He covered his mouth to yawn as Levy read.

From My Heart

A million stars up in the sky

One shines brighter I can't deny

A love so precious a love so true

A love that comes from me to you

The angels sing when you are near

Within your arms I have nothing to fear

You always know just what to say

Just talking to you makes my day

I love you honey with all of my heart

Together forever and never to part.

Natsu yawned again. This one a bit louder than before. "Sorry."

"It's ok. Do you want to stop?"

"No I can keep going."

"Alright." Levy turned the page to the last poem in the book.

"True Love…" Natsu trailed off, only managing to read the title of the poem before finally succumbing to sleep.

Levy didn't mind. Instead she leaned into him, her head resting on shoulder. He was so warm.

She could hear his heartbeat. It was soothing to her. "I'll read this one." She said to the sleeping dragon slayer.

When I say I love you, please believe it's true.

When I say forever, know I'll never leave you.

When I say goodbye, promise me you won't cry,

Because the day I'll be saying that will be the day I die.

Levy looked nuzzled closer to Natsu, and closed her eyes to better hear his heartbeat. It was only in moments like this could she truly express how she felt.

"Sweet dreams, Natsu."

* * *

Natsu's eyes flitted open when he felt a breeze caress his cheeks. The light of sun blinding him for a few seconds, he could see the blurred outline of a person standing before him. "Levy?" he called. "Sorry. I fell asleep. Are we still reading the-"when his vision finally cleared he saw that he was face to face with someone else entirely.

"How rude. Mistaking me for one of my love rivals."

**JUVIA**

Juvia grabbed Natsu by the wrist and pulled him from the bench he was sitting on. "Come with me, beloved."

"Wait, Juvia." Natsu struggled. "What about Levy? And how did I end up outside?

"Hurry." Juvia said. "We don't have much time."

"Where are we going?"

"It's a surprise." She smiled.

After another long train ride, Natsu found himself back in Magnolia. Juvia was still pulling him along.

"Will you at least let walk on my own?"

"No." she sternly refused. "If I let you go, you will only slow us down and I already wasted enough time trying to find you."

Natsu wanted to question just why Juvia was looking for him in the first place, but he was more preoccupied with the disappearance of Levy. She must have placed him on that bench, but why did she just leave him? Was she mad at him for falling asleep?

Lost in his head, Natsu barely noticed that Juvia had brought him all the way to South Gate Park.

"Here we are." She beamed.

Natsu saw the big tree in the middle of the park. In the shade at the base was a blanket with a wicker basket on top. "You haven't had lunch yet, right?"

"Juvia, I…" Natsu was quickly interrupted by his grumbling stomach.

Juvia sat him down under the tree and took her place across from him. She opened the lid of the basket and the sweet aroma instantly flooded Natsu's nose. A mixture of freshly cooked meat, fresh fruit, fish, vegetables, and something sweet he couldn't quite make out all invaded his senses in rapid succession. His stomach roared again and without realizing it he began to drool.

Juvia giggled at his reaction as she pulled the food out of the basket. "I made all of this myself. I hope you like it."

"Why wouldn't I?" Natsu questioned. "Your food always tastes great."

Juvia's heart skipped a beat. Sure he said it almost all the time, but that didn't make her any less happy upon hearing it. His praise meant everything to her. "Here." She took a piece of the mutton and handed it to Natsu. "Try it, beloved."

"You don't have tell me twice." Natsu licked his lips and ate the meat in one bite. "That was great!"

"You shouldn't eat so fast, darling. You'll make yourself sick."

"It's fine." Natsu waved off. "I can handle it. Besides if I eat too slow all the food will get cold. I wouldn't want to waste it."

Juvia smiled again. She reached for the container next to the meat. "Try the vegetables next."

Natsu grimaced. "I don't want to. That's rabbit food."

"Natsu…" Juvia narrowed her eyes. "You have to eat these if you want to get stronger. You can't just eat meat and rice all of the time. I've told you this before."

"Why can't I?"

"Because it's not healthy, beloved."

"Says you."

Juvia was starting to get impatient. He was being more than a little childish. He was downright unreasonable. A short time ago she would have tried to force feed him the food as an expression of her love, but she had changed for the better…somewhat.

"It's not that bad." She stuck a fork in one of the celery sticks and held it to Natsu. "Just try it."

"No." Natsu turned his head away. He really was a child at heart.

"Please, beloved. It would make me happy."

Natsu looked back at Juvia and instantly fell under the spell of her puppy dog eyes. He sighed in defeat.

"Fine."

"Yay!" Juvia cheered. She inched the celery forward.

Natsu bit into it and as he began to chew his eyes widened. "This tastes like meat!" he shouted.

Juvia nodded sagely. "You noticed. I glazed the all of the vegetables with a special meat sauce. Do you like it?"

"Yeah!" Natsu exclaimed. "I've never had vegetables like this before! You gotta make this all the time, Juvia!"

She smiled warmly. "I will. If that's what you want."

Natsu scarfed down the vegetables along with the rest of the food Juvia had made. As usual Juvia's food was among the tastiest things he had ever eaten. When all of the food was regular food was gone, Juvia pulled out a medium-sized black box from the basket.

"What is that?" Natsu asked. He could smell something sweet emanating from the box.

"Dessert." The rain woman smiled. She slowly opened the lid, revealing a cake with a picture of her and Natsu's faces in the middle of a heart. "It's NaVia cake."

"NaVia cake?"

Juvia blushed and looked away. "It's our names combined…is that weird?"

Natsu shrugged. "I don't think so. It has both us on it so it makes sense. Can I have a piece? It smells really good."

"O-of course!" Juvia yelped. "It's for you after all." She took a knife and plate out the basket. She cut into the cake with a knife and served it on a plate to her love. "Please."

"Don't mind if I do." Natsu took the plate and stared at the cake for a moment. It was slightly cool and the sweet smell made his nose dance in delight. No longer able to wait, He grabbed the cake and bit into it. His eyes sparkled. "Thff taff amaving!"

All of Juvia's anxiety washed away in that that moment and she smiled. "Please don't eat with your mouth full, darling."

"Sowwy." Natsu swallowed. "That was great! Are you gonna have some?"

"No. No I couldn't." Juvia refused. "This picnic is all for you. It would be rude of me to eat any."

"What are you talking about? A picnic is only good if everyone is eating and having fun." Natsu smiled.

Juvia's heart skipped again. She thought that if it happened one more time she would die. _Being here with you is more than enough fun for me._ She thought.

Natsu cut a piece of the cake and presented it to Juvia. "Try it."

"I couldn't. I-"

"Come on, Juvia. I promise its good."

The rain woman looked at the cake and then to Natsu's face. He was still smiling. He always was when he talked to her. She knew she couldn't refuse him. She took the plate, thanking Natsu before taking a bite. The mixture of strawberry and blueberry hit her tongue like a cannon of ripe sweetness. Though she already knew full well how tasty the cake was before she brought it to the picnic, eating it with him made it taste ten no one hundred times better.

"It is good." She smiled.

"Told ya." Natsu beamed. He took another slice of cake. As did Juvia.

When the pair finished their dessert, Natsu leaned back on his hands and let out a loud burp. "Man that was delicious. I haven't had food that tasty in a while."

"I'm glad you liked it."

Natsu looked out to the pond the sun was still high in the sky, but Natsu could tell that it start to set in a few hours.

_I've ran into Erza, Levy, and now Juvia. I wonder where the others are. _

He looked to Juvia. She was starting to fidget nervously.

"What's up?" he asked. "Something bugging you?"

"Hm?" Juvia looked up from her hands. "Oh. Oh no, it's nothing. I was just thinking."

"What about?"

"It's just…this is first time we've been alone in a while."

"Yeah? So?"

"I was trying to enjoy the mood, but I keep getting nervous. I feel like I'm making you uncomfortable."

"What do you mean? I'm fine. I'm not uncomfortable at all."

"Really? You're not?"

"Why would I be? You took all this time out of your day to plan this picnic right? How could I feel weird about something like that?" his smile once again broke through Juvia's anxiety.

"Oh, beloved!" she tackled him, wrapping her arms around Natsu's neck as he fell on his back.

"Ok. Ok." Natsu laughed, her hat was tickling the underside of his chin. "Don't squeeze so hard."

Juvia mewled, giggling happily as she continued to snuggle with the dragon slayer.

Natsu looked up at the leaves on the tree branches. There were breaches of light between the spaces, giving the spot they were in a good amount of shade. It wasn't like they needed it. It wasn't hot outside in the slightest. It wasn't really cold either despite it still technically being winter. It was a fair day all things considered.

"Natsu?"

He looked down to Juvia. She was concerned about something. "What's up?"

"You seem distracted. Am I boring you?"

"No. I was just thinking about stuff. Nothing important." He let out a yawn.

"Are you tired?"

"Guess so." He rubbed his eyes. "Looks like eating all that food made me sleepy again."

"Then you should rest." Juvia smiled. "I will watch over you."

"You sure? It might get boring just watching me sleep."

"Don't worry. I'm used to it."

"Used to what?"

Juvia realized what she said and her cheeks went red. "N-n-nothing! Enjoy your nap!"

"Um, alright then." Natsu yawned and closed his eyes. "See you in a few."

"Enjoy your nap, beloved."

* * *

A few hours later. Natsu's eyes opened and a new girl was before him – or in this case over him.

"You look relaxed." She smiled.

* * *

**Part 2 is up! I meant to post this much earlier in the day, but my wifi was down nearly all day so I couldn't edit for a while. But you know what they say, better late than never.**

**Not much else to say here really. The final part will be up tomorrow on Valentines Day!.**

**As always leave a comment/review letting me know what you think. Thanks for reading! :)**


	18. Valentine's Day: Chapter II

**LUCY**

Natsu sat up and rubbed grass from the back of his head. "Lucy?"

"That's my name." She smiled. "I was surprised to see you taking a nap out here in middle of the park. Long day?"

"I guess you could say that." Natsu looked around. Just as he suspected Juvia was nowhere to be found.

Lucy reached her hand to him. "Need some help?"

Natsu accepted her offer. "Thanks. So what's going on?"

Lucy smiled and held up a piece of paper. "I found a job. Want to go with me?"

Natsu smiled. "Sure I was itching for some action."

"Great. It's an easy one that even you can't mess up. The client is waiting near the train station. We should head over and meet with them before they get angry."

"The station?" Natsu fretted. He could feel his stomach starting to turn. "We aren't taking the train are we?"

Lucy answered his question with a smile and ominously walked back into town. Suffice to say this didn't exactly fill him with confidence.

"Lucy?"

She continued walking as if she didn't hear him.

"Lucy, wait up! Are we taking a train?! A carriage?! Airship?! I need to know! My stomach can't take much more punishment!"

* * *

As Lucy stated earlier their job was a fairly easy one from the description. They only had to escort their client – a young man by the name of Ethan – to a small village in the east named Pistil. According to the story he told the Fairy Tail wizard's he was going there to surprise his girlfriend for Valentine's Day. Thankfully – for Natsu's sake at least – the journey to Pistil didn't require them to ride the train or any other manner of vehicle. All that was needed was a three hour walk through the East Forest.

"…And then after she punched me I flew into a wall and the whole theater came down!"

"Was anybody hurt?"

"No. Everybody made it out in one piece. I even saw Erza bowing to the Theater director."

"That's Erza for you." Lucy giggled. "She never knows when to hold back."

"My jaw agrees with you. It's still a little sore when I talk."

"You two remind me of my girlfriend and I." Ethan observed innocently. "How long have you two been together?"

Lucy froze and her cheeks flushed red. Natsu was unfazed by sudden question.

"Seven years." He plainly answered.

Ethan's eyes widened. "Wow. Are you married?"

Natsu raised an eyebrow at his second question. "What are you talking about?"

Lucy quickly covered the dragon slayer's mouth before he said anything else embarrassing. "We're not getting married." he haphazardly denied. Her face was getting redder by the second.

"I see. Have you at least talked about it?"

"We're not together at all!" Lucy squealed, unable to contain her embarrassment any longer.

"But he said-"

"He meant we've been partners for seven years. **Working** partners." She emphasized the "working" as much as she could to get her point across. The client accepted this and bowed in apology.

"Forgive me. It's just that you two seem so close that I naturally assumed-"

"I-it's ok." Lucy quickly waved off. "It's a common mistake." She finally removed her hand from Natsu's mouth.

"What was that for?" Natsu irritably demanded.

"For being an idiot. Now come on. Both of you." She stormed off.

The young men looked to each other, Natsu giving a confused shrug.

After another hour or so of silent travel, the village of Pistil came into view.

"Is this the place?" Natsu asked Ethan.

"Yes. It is."

"I bet you're excited to see your girlfriend." Lucy grinned.

"I am. Because of my job for the council I can't visit as often as I'd like. The only way for us to see one another is through communication lacrima."

"That must have been hard not seeing each other face to face." Lucy sympathized.

"It has. But Susanna and I have been together since we were kids so I don't doubt the strength of our bond." He reached into his bag and pulled out a small black box. Lucy's eyes went wide.

"Is that…?"

Paul nodded with a grin.

"I saved up for six months to buy this. Hopefully she'll accept it."

Lucy smiled. "If what you've been telling us about your relationship is true, then I have no doubt that she will."

"So why did you need me to come along, Lucy?" Natsu asked, looking ahead to the approaching village. "You could have done this job all by yourself."

Lucy started to blush again. "I know, but it's been a while since you and I went on a job together."

"We just finished a job a few days ago."

"I mean with just the two of us. It kind of reminds you of the jobs we went when I first joined the guild, doesn't it?"

"Not really." Natsu answered bluntly. "Those were-"

"What's that?" Ethan pointed.

Natsu and Lucy looked ahead and saw a large man holding someone a lot smaller than him in the air. There were a group of at least ten to twelve other men behind him. There was also a woman on her knees. She appeared to be begging.

"What's going on?" Lucy asked.

Natsu's eyes narrowed. "Looks like trouble."

"Susanna!" Ethan blitzed past the Fairy Tail wizard and made a beeline for the men.

"Wait!" Lucy shouted.

"See, girl." The leader of the group smirked. "This is what happens when you try to be a hero." He squeezed the neck of the man in his clutches, further restricting his air.

"Please! Let my brother go!" Susanna pleaded. "He's only a child! He didn't mean to do what he did."

"You should really be apologizing to my boy over there." He pointed his thumb to a man on his left – who was currently nursing a bump on his head. "Hitting him with that rock wasn't a very nice thing to do." He squeezed harder.

"Please! Don't do this!"

The big man and his group began to cackle when a bolt of lightning hit him on the arm, forcing him to release Susanna's brother.

"Ow! Dammit! Who the hell did that?!"

"Leave them alone!"

Susanna's eyes widened when she saw who was running towards them. "Ethan?"

Ethan forced himself between the man and his beloved.

"Are you alright, Susanna?"

"Ethan…I can't believe you're actually here." she was on the verge of tears.

"How is Beltran?"

Susanna shook the stars out of her eyes and checked on her brother. She pressed her ear against his chest. His heart beat was slow, but steady. "He's still alive." She wiped the tears from her eyes. "Thank God."

"Susanna, listen to me. I want you to take Beltran and get out of here. Go home and lock yourself inside. Don't come out until I tell you."

"What are you going to do?"

He smiled at her. "Isn't it obvious? I'm going to teach these guys a lesson in respect."

"What?! Ethan, you can't! There's too many of them for you to take on alone!"

"Let me worry about that. Now go!"

Susanna scooped her kid brother into her arms and stood up. When she looked to Ethan, her eyes were filled with concern. It was like she would never see him again.

"I'll finish this quickly. I promise." He winked. Weak as it was Susanna couldn't help but smile at him.

"Don't take too long." With that she ran off.

One of the Big Man's followers tried to chase her, but he stopped them.

"We can take care of her later. Right now it looks like we have another hero on our hands, boys."

Ethan readied himself for a fight as the group started to surround him. Based on their size alone he would have trouble beating one, let alone ten of them - and that was before he factored in their massive leader.

He looked to their weapons: some had swords, some had knives, and others carried magical staves. Looking at the odds, there was no way Ethan would come out of this fight unscathed. Let alone alive.

"You're looking a little pale there, Hero." The leader mocked. "What happened to all that gusto from earlier?"

Ethan grinned to hide his anxiety - though his hands were still a little shaky. "I still have plenty to spare. I just didn't want to intimidate you guys too much. Wouldn't want you to run away before I had a chance to make you apologize for what you just did." He looked around at the men once more, taking note of the flaming skull tattoos on their arms. "I take it you guys are the Bad Skull Gang." He looked to the leader again. "You must be their leader, Geordi."

"The one and only." The leader of the gang smirked. "Flattered you know about us."

"It's part of my job as a member of the magic council. I've been ordered to bring you guys in."

The gang all laughed.

"Bring us in? I like you, councilman. I'll be sure to take good care of your girl when you're gone. What was her name again?" Geordi licked his lips lustfully. "Susanna?"

Ethan gritted his teeth and leapt at the man in a rage. He drew back his fist but was instantly swatted into a nearby building.

"You got lucky before. That won't happen again." Geordi and as his men stalked the downed Ethan. The large man reached into the rubble, hoisting Ethan into the air by the collar of his shirt. He punched him hard in the stomach.

Ethan gasped for air and his vision started to blur.

"Oh don't fall asleep on me now, Hero." Geordi smirked. "We're just getting started."

When drew back his fist a second time, a torrent of flame came rushing towards him.

"What the hell is that?!"

In the confusion Ethan headbutted Geordi in the nose, forcing him to let go. As Ethan fell to the ground he was caught and taken away. When the dust settled Natsu and Lucy faced the gang, the latter with Ethan in his arms.

"You were pretty cool back there." Lucy complimented with a smile.

"Let us take it from here." Natsu set Ethan against a nearby building and looked ahead to the group of criminals. He cracked his knuckles. "Ready, Lucy?"

The Celestial Wizard grabbed her keys. "Yeah."

"Who the hell are you?!" Geordi yelled, still nursing his broken nose. "You got a death wish just like that councilman, don't ya?!"

"Wait, Boss. I think I recognize them." One of his men said. "That's Salamander and the Cosplay Queen! They're wizards from Fairy Tail!"

"I'm not the 'Cosplay Queen'!" Lucy shouted in offense. "You're going to get an even worse beating for that."

"I'll take down the big guy." Natsu delegated. "Think you can handle the others?"

"Of course."

"Alright, let's do this!"

Natsu and Lucy charged.

Natsu pulled back his fist and lunged towards Geordi. The big man blocked with his forearm. The clash rocked the area.

Geordi pushed Natsu back on his heels. "I've heard about you, Salamander. You're supposed to be strong. Is that weak punch all you have?"

Natsu clenched his fists tight, both igniting in flames. "I'm just getting warmed up."

"I was hoping you would say that." Geordi held out his hands and the ground began to shake around him.

"What's going on?!" Natsu panicked.

"My rumble magic!"

"Rumble magic?"

"It lets me manipulate the earth in ways you could only dream of." Pieces of the ground broke apart and covered Geordi's arms up to his shoulders. He slammed his rock gauntlets together. "Hope you're ready to eat dirt, Salamander."

Lucy ran towards the rest of the Gang at top speed, but they were unfazed by her hardened glare.

"What can one little girl do against all of us? You that eager to die, blondie?"

"No one's dying today!" Lucy held out Leo's key.

**STAR DRESS: LEO FORM**

In a glow of golden, Lucy changed into a black and gold dress. Before the men could even blink she dispatched all of them with a well placed Regulus Lucy Kick. Narrowly dodging a bolt of lighting from above, Lucy spotted more staff users on the roofs of the buildings.

They must have been hiding there the whole time.

She grabbed Sagitarrius' key.

**STAR DRESS: SAGITARRIUS FORM**

Avoiding a combined blast of water and fire, Lucy leapt into the air with her sights set on the stave users.

**STAR SHOT**

From her bow she let loose five arrows of light, each one hitting their mark and knocking the men from the rooftops to the ground below. Upon landing safely on the ground herself, Lucy returned to her regular clothes and ran to Ethan's side.

"Are you ok?"

"Yeah." Ethan struggled to his knees, his eyes on the battle between Geordi and Natsu. "I have to help him…"

Lucy held him back with a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry." She assured. "Natsu can handle this."

Natsu and Geordi traded punches in the middle of the village, their colliding fists sending one shockwave after another into the air.

"You're moving pretty slow, Salamander." Geordi smirked. "Don't tell me you're tired, already."

"Actually I was going to say the same thing to you." Natsu retorted. "I only slowed down because I'm trying to give you a fair fight."

"Why you-!" Geordi punched Natsu in the face as hard as he could.

"Natsu!" Ethan shouted.

"Just watch." Lucy said.

"Not so tough now are you?!" Geordi began to laugh but quickly stopped when he felt his fist heating up through the rock. "What the hell?!"

"That all you got?" Natsu asked through a cocky smirk. There wasn't a mark on his face at all.

"You bastard!" Geordi ran at Natsu at top speed.

Natsu bent his knee and gathered flames around his right arm. When Geordi was in range he lunged forward.

**FIRE DRAGON IRON FIST**

Natsu plunged his fist as deeply as he could into the large man's abdomen. Geordi's eyes went completely white from the pain, and he fell to Natsu's side unconscious. The dragon slayer straightened up, giving Lucy and Ethan a thumbs up.

Ethan was at a loss for words. He had heard tales of Fairy Tail wizards, but he had never seen them in action before outside of lacrima footage here and there. The way they quickly defeated the entire gang without so much as a scratch on either of them was nothing short of astounding.

"Took you long enough." Lucy teased as Natsu made his way over. "You could have ended that fight the minute it started if you wanted."

"Yeah, but I haven't had any exercise all day." he rotated his shoulder. "I needed to loosen up."

"Honestly." Lucy sighed with a shake of her head.

Natsu helped Ethan to his feet. "You ok?"

"That was amazing." the council officer praised. "I couldn't touch him at all, but you took him down like it was nothing."

Natsu rubbed his finger under his nose and puffed out his chest with pride. "I am pretty awesome, aren't I?"

Lucy smacked him in the back of the head.

"Ow!" the dragon slayer groaned. "What was that for?"

"Don't be a jerk." She scolded.

"I wasn't being a jerk." Natsu protested.

"You were being cocky. That's pretty much the same thing."

As Ethan watched the two argue he heard a voice calling his name.

"Ethan! Ethan!"

He turned and saw Susanna running to him with open arms.

"Susanna!"

He caught her when she dove into his arms. The two spun around for a moment before coming to a gentle stop.

"I'm so glad you're safe."

"Me too." Susanna nodded. She then slapped him in the face.

Ethan quickly grabbed his sore cheek. "Why did you-" he was interrupted by the tears in Susanna's eyes.

"I thought I was going to lose you." She sniffled. "You dumb idiot! Don't ever do something reckless like that again."

Ethan pulled Susanna's head to his chest. "I won't. I promise."

Natsu and Lucy smiled at the scene, the celestial wizard inching a tiny bit closer to the dragon slayer.

* * *

"I'm glad we were able to help them out." Lucy smiled.

After a short goodbye to the couple, Natsu and Lucy were on their way back to Magnolia.

"Yeah." Natsu agreed. "He even gave us the reward money for taking down that gang."

"Not only that. Susanna agreed to marry him." Lucy swooned. "That was so romantic."

"Yeah...If you're into that kind of mushy stuff."

"It's not 'mushy'." Lucy argued. You're telling me you wouldn't want to marry the girl you love?"

"I mean I would yeah, but I wouldn't do it like that. My marriage proposal would be way cooler."

Lucy blushed and began to play with her fingers. "How?" she prompted.

"How what?"

"Your marriage proposal. How would you do it?"

Now it was Natsu's turn to blush. "N-none of your business."

"Aw, come on, Natsu." Lucy whined. "Tell me. I wanna know."

"No way."

"Please?"

"No."

"Pretty please?"

"I said no."

"Come on."

"Just drop it alright?!" Natsu began to run.

"Natsu, wait up!" Lucy shouted, running after him. "Tell me! I'll keep it a secret!"

"No!"

"Natsu~!"

Lucy stopped running when she realized she wouldn't be catching Natsu anytime soon. She looked at her watch and sighed.

"Guess my time is up. He's all yours, Mira."

**MIRAJANE**

Natsu made it back to Magnolia just as the sun was about to set. He was exhausted.

When he looked back he noticed that Lucy was nowhere to be found. _I could have sworn she was right behind me._ Natsu stood straight up and stretched his back. _I guess that means another one of the girls is going to show up in a few seconds. I wonder whose next._

"Natsu?"

When the dragon slayer looked ahead, his eyes fell on a slightly worried Mirajane Struass.

"You look tired."

Natsu smiled. "I'm fine, Mira. I just came back from a job."

"By yourself?"

"No. Lucy was with me. She's probably already back home."

Mirajane raised in eyebrow in suspicion. "I see. I'm glad I ran into you. When I went home after the guild closed and saw you weren't there I got worried."

"Well you found me. So what's up?"

"There is a festival in Crocus tonight, and…I was wondering if you wanted to go with me."

Natsu smiled wide. "Sounds like fun."

Mirajane returned his smile. "Great. Would you like to shower first before we go? I don't think you want to get on a train smelling like you went ten rounds with a pig."

Natsu sniffed his armpit. He didn't think he smelled bad, but he could understand where Mirajane was coming from.

"I probably should. I'll take a quick dip in the bath and then-"suddenly Natsu froze.

"What's wrong?"

He slowly turned to her, his face pale with fear. "Did you say we were taking the train?"

* * *

Natsu let out a deathly groan as the train rolled along the tracks, his head firmly resting on Mirajane's lap. Three train rides in one day did not sit well with his stomach in the slightest. He was beginning to think that the powers that be were punishing him for all the destruction he caused over the years.

"It's ok." the barmaid cooed, running her fingers through his pink locks. "We're almost there." When the train began rolling to a stop in the Crocus station she smiled at him. "See? That wasn't so bad was it?"

Natsu answered with a groan. He was better composed when the train came to a full stop. Mirajane lead him out of the train and into the capital city.

Day turned to night while on the train, so the street lights were lit all across town. No matter how many times Natsu saw Crocus at night he couldn't help but be taken in by the wonder of it all. The lights were even tinted red and pink tonight, giving the city an almost ethereal quality to it. It was spellbinding.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Mirajane asked. Natsu nodded.

"Yeah. It is."

"Come on. The festival is this way." Mirajane hooked her arm around Natsu's and pulled him along through the streets.

When they arrived downtown Natsu once again found himself entranced by the overall presentation of the festival.

As far as his eyes could see there were stalls with games and all kinds of foods that were each more pleasing to smell than the last. "Whoa." He heard himself gasp. "This festival is way bigger than the one we went to last time."

"Hopefully we can stay at this one a little bit longer than that one." Mirajane giggled. She tightened her grip on his arm and took him through the festival.

Natsu was pulled every which way by the surprisingly energetic barmaid. One would think that a full day of working at Fairy Tail would tire out even the hardiest of people, but Mirajane had shown time and again that she was very different from most people.

Natsu on the other hand was on auto pilot. Thanks to spending time with the other girls Natsu was mentally exhausted by the time he had met with Mirajane. His third train ride that day didn't help matters either. The only reason he was able to stand was because of Mirajane's arm being linked around his.

"Natsu, are you alright?"

He yawned. "I'm just a little tired is all."

Mirajane could see the redness in his eyes. "Oh my. That train ride must have taken more out of you then I thought. Do you wanna rest for a little while?"

"Yeah actually. Sorry."

"It's fine. Let's find somewhere to sit." Mirajane looked through the crowd and saw an empty bench behind one of the food stalls. "This way." She led the increasingly exhausted to the bench and sat him down. "I'll be right back. Don't go anywhere."

"No problem." Natsu gave the barmaid a lackadaisical thumbs up as she hurried back into the festival crowd. A minute or so later she returned with a plate of takoyaki and two chocolate dipped bananas. She sat next to the dragon slayer, scooting over so that their arms were touching. Natsu would have scooted over a bit to give her space, but he didn't have the strength.

Mirajane stuck a toothpick in one of the takoyaki balls and held it up to Natsu's mouth with a smile. "Say 'ah'."

"I can feed myself." Natsu grumbled.

"Oh quit being a baby and just eat it."

Natsu reluctantly opened his mouth and let the barmaid place the ball on his tongue. He closed his mouth and she slid the toothpick out clean.

"See? That wasn't so bad."

"Whatever." Natsu said through his chews.

"Don't talk with your mouth full."

"Sowwy." He finished the takoyaki and Mirajane prepared another. Just before she could place it in his mouth the pair heard someone call to them.

"Natsu? Mirajane?"

The Fairy Tail wizards watched as Hibiki and Jenny from Blue Pegasus walked towards them with smiles, their arms linked just as theirs had been earlier. Though Jenny's grip seemed to be a bit more possessive than Mirajane's was.

"I knew it was you two I saw earlier." Hibiki smiled. "How are you?"

"We're doing well." Mirajane returned with a smile of her own. "Natsu was feeling tired so we decided to sit down for a little while."

"Are you two on a date?" Jenny asked with a mischievous grin.

Mirajane felt herself get a little embarrassed. "N-no we aren't. We're here as friends."

"Oh that's too bad." Jenny cooed. She tightened her grip on Hibiki's arm. "Hibiki and I have been on a Valentine's date all day. This festival is our last stop."

"Congratulations. I'm so happy for you." Mirajane said through gritted teeth.

"Jenny, be nice. It's not a competition." Hibiki chided.

She snuggled up to him. "Of course it isn't when I've already won."

Mirajane's mood began to darken and she stood up.

"Perhaps we should have a **real** competition." She challenged her fellow model. "Like at the Grand Magic Games." Mirajane lifted her head, looking down menacingly at a cowering Jenny. Her eyes began to glow. "Remember how much fun we had?"

Jenny, Hibiki, and even Natsu began to shake in fear of Mirajane's proposal. The Blue Pegasus couple stepped back a few paces.

"N-no thank you." Jenny politely declined. "I'll pass." She tugged on Hibiki's arm. It was time to go.

"I-it was nice seeing you two again." He said. "E-enjoy the rest of the festival."

Mirajane's normal mood returned. "We will. Thank you."

With that Hibiki and Jenny quickly shuffled back into the festival. Mirajane returned to her spot next to Natsu on the bench. When she picked up the plate she frowned.

"Oh no. The food's gone cold."

"I can warm it up!" Natsu quickly offered. He was just as scared of Mirajane as Hibiki and Jenny were at the moment.

He grabbed plate and used his magic to warm up the food. He handed the plate back to Mirajane.

"Thank you." She poked into the now warm takoyaki. "Say 'ah'."

* * *

After finishing their meal Natsu and Mirajane returned to the festival. When they were done sampling all of the food stalls, they decided to play some of the games. Luckily for this went way better than last time. Natsu even managed to win some things for the other girls.

Mirajane hugged the white teddy bear Natsu had won her to her chest. "Thank you for this."

"You're welcome." Natsu looked down at the bags in his hands. "I was really on fire today. This was fun." He smiled wide at Mirajane. "Thanks for bringing me, Mira."

She looked away with a blush, her hand reaching for the dragon slayer's sleeve. "You're welcome."

As they walked towards the edge of the festival, Natsu's eyes caught glimpse of a sign up ahead.

"Look, Mira!" he pointed. "They're going to shoot off fireworks!"

"Oh they are? That should be nice."

"Let's go find a spot before it starts!" Natsu sped off, unwittingly leaving Mirajane behind, but she made no effort to chase him. Her time was up.

She looked at her bear.

"Have fun, Natsu."

**LISANNA**

Natsu made it to a grassy hill close to the city park. All over there were couples sitting on blankets in the grass, each of them waiting on the fireworks show to start.

"Aw man I can't see anything. What about you, Mi-" Natsu turned his head. Mirajane was nowhere to be found. He let out a sigh. "Of course she's gone. Why do they keep vanishing like that?"

"Natsu~! Over here!"

The dragon slayer looked around for the source of the voice and saw a girl waving to him from further down the hill. He walked over to a tree with a blanket already set up. Sitting on the blanket was Lisanna.

"Did you enjoy the festival?"

"Um, yeah." Natsu sat down next to her and looked over to the horizon. He could clearly see the reflection of the moon in the lake. "This is a pretty good spot."

"I got here early. I wanted to hurry and snag a good place before everyone else showed up."

"You didn't do anything at the festival?"

"Oh I did. I played a few of the games and I won this." She presented a toy fish to Natsu. "Isn't it cute? I'm going to give it to Happy."

"He'd like that." Natsu smiled. "Though he'd probably end up complaining that it's not a real fish."

"Yeah. I guess you're right about that." Lisanna giggled. She noticed the bags Natsu brought with him. "Looks like you won some things too. Can I see them?" Lisanna reached her hand over, but Natsu quickly snatched the bags away.

"You can't!"

"Why not?" Lisanna pouted.

"Um…it's a secret."

Lisanna was unfazed by this excuse and reached again. "Just let me see it."

Natsu pulled away again. "No."

"Natsu!"

A loud pop signaled the end of their struggle and both Natsu and Lisanna looked to the night sky. A blast of colors dazzled beautifully in the star-studded air.

"The fireworks have started!" Lisanna gasped.

"Yeah!" Natsu smiled as he sneakily shifted the bags behind his back. He was grateful for the interference.

The colors continued to pop on the black backdrop of the sky. The gathered crowd sat in awe of the spectacle.

Natsu noticed that a few of the women around them had snuggled close to the men sitting next to them. His face began to heat up at the possibility of that happening to him and Lisanna. Almost instantly he turned his head to her, surprised when she was looking his way as well. The two stared into one another's eyes, the sound of the fireworks drowned out by the loud beating of their hearts.

"Natsu?"

"What is it?"

"Do you remember…when we were kids and I joked about becoming your wife when we were older?"

"Y-yeah I remember. What about it?"

Lisanna reached for his hand, lightly gripping it in her own as she inched her body forward. "I just…" her lips parted more the closer she got to him. "What if I asked that again?" their breaths began to mix. "What would you say?"

"I …"

Just then a strong gust of wind blew between them, effectively ruining the mood.

"What was that?" Natsu frantically asked.

"I don't know."

The pair heard clapping and looked around at the crowd. When they looked to sky they only saw stars. The show was over.

"We missed the whole thing." Natsu whined. "What a waste."

Lisanna sulked a bit at those words. _A waste? But we almost…_

"Let's hit some of the stands before they close." Natsu suggested. He stood up and stretched his hands towards Lisanna. "I want to eat some more before they shut everything down."

"Ok."

After taking one more stroll through the festival, Natsu and Lisanna found themselves eating at the same bench Natsu remembered sitting on with Mirajane just an hour or so ago. They ate their food, engaging in light conversation every few bites to keep things from getting awkward.

Natsu looked over his plate, but his eyes were focused on Lisanna's lips. They weren't as full as her sisters, but they were still had their own charm. He watched Lisanna bring her Blueberry crepe to her mouth and took a bite. Her lips glistened in the moonlight.

"Natsu?"

Natsu's eyes met Lisanna's in a panic. "Y-yeah!"

"Are you watching me eat?"

"W-what?! N-no! Why would I do something weird like that?"

"Well then why are you staring at me?"

Natsu had to think of an excuse fast. "I-I was just going to tell you that you had something on your cheek." He pointed to the right corner of his mouth and Lisanna mirrored him, finding a rogue bit of crepe.

"That's so embarrassing." She ate the crumb off her finger, Natsu once again watching her lips. "Thank you."

"N-no problem."

The two finished their food as the festival came to a close. They walked through the streets of Crocus, watching as all of the festival vendors took down their stalls and decorations.

"That festival was fun." Lisanna smiled.

"What do we do now?" Natsu yawned. "It's getting kind of late."

Lisanna yawned as well. She rubbed her tired eyes then looked to the clock on one of the larger buildings. "It's almost eleven."

"Should we go back home?"

"Yeah."

The pair headed to the train station. Natsu was dreading getting on the monster for what would be the fourth time, but he accepted it as a means to get home this late at night. He let Lisanna board before him, but just before he could step inside he was pulled back inside the station by his scarf.

"Not so fast, dragon boy."

**CANA**

"Agh!" Natsu landed on his back, his eyes looking up at a smiling Cana.

"You didn't think I would forget about you, right?"

The fortuneteller dragged Natsu back into the city.

"Cana, wait!" Natsu struggled. She let him go and he stood up, his face showing how unamused he was by her rough methods. "What are you doing?"

"Well I was bringing you along with me until you started whining."

"No I mean what are you doing here in Crocus?"

"Are you serious? This place has some of the best bars in the entire kingdom." She smiled. "And we're going to them all!"

"We're what?!"

Cana linked her arm around Natsu's and pulled him along. "Come on! Happy hour's almost over!" she pointed ahead.

Their adventure began.

* * *

Natsu rested his head on his hand, watching in utter boredom as Cana drank her fifth opponent under the table.

"That all you guys got?" she challenged. She had yet to get buzzed. "I thought you were 'real men'."

The pair were currently on what Cana affectionately dubbed "Liquor Lane". In reality it was a street in downtown Crocus about a mile or two long with bars reaching as far as the eye could see. According to Cana, no one had ever made it from one end of the street to the other without puking their guts out. She aimed to break that trend tonight. While not interested in her goal in the slightest, Natsu was at least thankful that Cana was funding this expedition herself.

"Your girlfriend can sure knock 'em back." The bartender said as Cana faced her sixth contender.

"She's not my girlfriend." Natsu retorted automatically. In a matter of minutes Cana claimed another victory. She sauntered over to the bar.

"I need your largest pitcher of water and some bread."

"You got it." Within a minute he came back with order. "Going to make it to the end tonight?"

"That's the plan."

"Good luck."

"Thanks." Cana down the pitcher in one go and began eating the bread. She then looked to her weary companion. "What's wrong?" she muffled, her mouth full of bread. "You look like you're not having fun."

"I'm not." Natsu said bluntly. "All you're doing is drinking. I don't even know why I'm here."

Cana finished her bread. "It's because you're my D.D.S. of course."

"D.D.S.? What does that mean?"

She smiled. "My 'Designated Dragon Slayer'. You're supposed to be encouraging me to complete this challenge…as well as carry me home if I pass out."

"So I'm just a lackey?!"

"Now you're getting it. It's a team effort." Cana hopped off of her stool and moved to Natsu's ear. "If I make it to the end, I'll give you a present." She whispered lustfully.

Natsu's spine tingled.

Cana grabbed his wrist. "Come on. We still have a long way to go."

The duo travelled to the bar across the street and Cana went on another tear, this time drinking seven men under the table. When she was finished she would always order water and bread before moving on.

Zig-zagging from one one bar to another in what felt like no time at all, Natsu slowly began to find himself warming up to Cana's habit. He knew she was the hardiest drinker in the guild, but he had never seen her abilities on full display like this before. Watching her defeat opponent after opponent on her own field of battle left him Natsu was awestruck.

"You're amazing!" he praised. They were nearing the home stretch. Only one bar left.

Cana was starting to feel the early stages of being drunk, but smiled at the dragon slayer. "Some people are good at beating other people up." She poked his chest. Then she poked her own. "And others are good at drinking. It's a-" she burped. "Excuse me. It's just a skill."

"Can you really make it?" Natsu's tone was a mix of concern for Cana's health and excitement for her actually completing the task set before her.

"I can if you're still here to keep me on my feet."

Natsu nodded in determination. "You can count on me!"

They entered the final bar, which was appropriately named "The Ninth Circle". As they walked in – Cana more so stumbling at this point – the bartender took notice.

"Congratulations." She said. "Welcome to the Ninth Circle. This is the last stop on 'Liquor Lane'. You made it just in time too. We were just about to close for the night."

"But it's only 12." Natsu said. "Why would a bar close so early?"

"To be honest, it's because we're out of alcohol."

"You're what?!" Cana and Natsu shouted in disbelief.

"Sorry. We always close earlier than the other bars because our champ runs us dry. Kind of hard to stay open with nothing to drink but water."

"Well where is he?" Cana demanded. "After I beat him I'll be the Queen of this thing."

"Over there." The bartender pointed to a tabled in the back. "Past the drunken bodies."

Natsu and Cana's eyes widened in shock. There had to be at least twenty to thirty men on the ground, all of them unconscious from drinking. At the head of this mountain sat a man sipping on a mug of regular beer. Natsu and Cana recognized him immediately.

"Bacchus?!"

"Huh?" the Cerberus wizard hiccupped. "Someone call my name?"

When he spotted the Fairy Tail wizards he smiled. "Cana! How's it goin?!" he stumbled over to them, tripping over an overturned chair along the way.

"You're the champion of this bar, Bacchus?" Cana questioned.

"The one and only." He grinned. "Hey, you're that Fire Dragon Slayer…Natsu right? Nice to see ya again." He reached out his hand, and Natsu begrudgingly shook it.

"Yeah. You too." As expected Bacchus reeked of alcohol. Natsu had to hold his nose closed just to keep upright in his presence.

The ace of Quatro Cerberus returned his attention to Cana. "You taking the challenge?"

She firmly nodded. "I am."

Bacchus laughed. "I should have known I'd see you in here sooner or later." His smile gave way to an eager grin. "What do you say we get started?"

Cana softly pushed Natsu away. "Fine by me."

"Stella. Bring out the good stuff."

The bartender let out a sigh. "Coming right up."

The two moved to a table near the middle of the bar and awaited their drink. Stella the bartender placed a pure white bottle on the table. She also placed glasses before each of them.

"Thanks, Stella." Bacchus said.

"Yeah."

Bacchus pulled out the cork and the sharp scent of the alcohol filled the air. It was enough to make Cana retch if she wasn't careful.

"If you can't take the smell then you definitely won't last long, sis."

Bacchus poured the crystal clear liquid into each of their glasses. "They call this stuff 'Dragon's Mouth" Sake. If you thought the smell was strong, just wait'll ya taste it. Just one glass will put you on your ass." He chuckled at his rhyme.

"Quit posturing and let's get this over with." Cana said. "I'm taking that title of yours."

"Your determination makes my spirit tremble."

They both downed the first shot and Cana felt the effects almost immediately as the first sip. Her vision started to blur and her head started spinning. It was like she was trapped in a whirlwind. The other alcohol in her system didn't help her cope either.

Bacchus smirked. He was seemingly unaffected by the drink. "You alright over there? Told you this stuff was strong."

Cana shook her head free of cobwebs - for the moment. "Keep pouring." She demanded.

"Alright! Let's get wild!"

After the first glass the battle started in earnest. In quick succession the drunken gladiators downed one round after another. The only spectators being the somewhat invested bartender, Stella, and a very worried Natsu.

He knew that Cana hadn't forgotten what happened the last time she and Bacchus battled one another in a contest like this. He could see it on her face. She was apprehensive, but there was also a flash of excitement in her normally subdued eyes. This wasn't just a battle for bragging rights, this was retribution for the humiliation she suffered back then. A grudge match on the perfect battlefield.

As Natsu continued to watch them, he noticed that Cana was shivering.

"She won't last long." Stella spoke.

Natsu turned to her. "What do you mean? She's still in this as long as she doesn't pass out."

"You saw her was shivering, right? That's not by accident. Don't you wonder why it's so cold in this bar?"

Honestly Natsu really hadn't, because of his dragon slayer magic he could stand the freezing cold and be able to move freely, but he did remember that he could see his breath when he walked in.

"The name 'Ninth Circle' isn't just something that looks nice on a building. We chose that name for a reason. In the divine comedy the Ninth Circle of Hell was the coldest. It was a frozen lake that housed the most unforgiving of sinners. The more grave their sin, the deeper in the lake they were placed."

Natsu was lost. "What does that have to do with the bar getting colder?"

"Alcohol gives you the illusion of warmth when you drink enough of it, but in reality its making you lose heat because it dilates your blood and your capillaries. Your body is working overtime to keep you warm, but at the same time it's also burning itself out."

Natsu looked Cana. "But she's not shivering anymore. That means she's ok right?"

"That only makes it worse." Stella explained. "Shivering is your body's natural defense mechanism against the cold. When you stop shivering hypothermia will begin to set in."

Suddenly a burst of cold air flowed through the bar.

"What was that?" Cana asked through chattering teeth. "When did it get so cold in here?"

"You finally noticed." Bacchus smirked.

"N-n-noticed what?"

"The Ninth Circle is always kind of chilly, but when someone challenges the champion of the bar one on one, it slowly gets even colder. You see Stella over there is an ice wizard. She gradually makes the place colder so that it's harder to drink. It's an endurance test to see if one is worthy of becoming champ."

Cana could feel her joints aching as she clutched her glass. _Damn. I wasn't expecting this._ _Sneaky bastard set me up._

"Looking a little pale there." He mocked. "You sure you can keep up? Isn't much left in the bottle. No shame in quitting while you're ahead."

Cana pushed her glass forward. "Just…pour…"

"I knew I liked you for a reason, Cana." Bacchus poured another round.

_Damn, Cana can't last much longer._ Natsu turned to Stella. "You have to stop."

"I can't. This is the rule of the bar. When a champion is challenged it is my job along with theirs to test the challenger."

"But she'll pass out and get sick! She could die!"

"She chose this path. It's not up to me."

"Dammit!" Natsu turned to Cana. She was starting to sway and her breathing was shallow. It was the early stages of hypothermia. _I have to do something!_

Cana struggled to bring the glass to her lips.

"Looks like you're almost done." Bacchus said. "It was a good fight, but it looks like I win again."

"Damn…" Cana cursed. _Everything hurts. I can barely move my arms anymore. I can't even see straight. It might be best to just give up._ She slowly lowered the glass. _It's just a dumb drinking contest anyway. Why did I even wanna do this in the first place…? _Cana felt a pair of arms snake around her waist and pull her close. Her back hit something solid and within seconds she felt her body heating up. _What's going on? I suddenly feel warm._

"Don't give up! You're almost there!"

Cana's eyes widened and she turned her head. "Natsu? What are you doing?"

"Keeping you on your feet." He grinned. "That's what a D.D.S. does right?"

Cana was shocked. "Natsu…"

"Hey, Stella!" Bacchus called. "Can he do that?"

"As long as she is the only one drinking its fine."

"Wanna come warm me up?" he grinned.

"I'd rather freeze to death."

Bacchus shrugged. "Worth a try."

"Natsu, I appreciate the help, but even if you warm me up I don't have much left in me." Cana admitted. "This stuff is hitting me pretty hard. I'm honestly surprised I can talk coherently right now."

"You just worry about beating this guy. I can handle the rest."

Cana grinned and looked back to Bacchus with renewed determination. "You heard the man. Fill 'er up, doggy bag."

"You Fairy Tail wizards sure know how to make a guy's spirit tremble." Bacchus shook the bottle. "This will be the last round."

He poured the liquid into the glasses and they both took their final sips.

Cana's vision went white as soon as the alcohol hit her stomach.

"Come on, Cana!" Natsu cheered. "Fight it!"

She blinked a few times and her vision started to return. She stared into Bacchus' eyes. With the alcohol gone it was now a test of wills.

Bacchus chuckled. "I had a feeling…tonight would be fun."

"Me too." Cana grinned. "I haven't had this much fun drinking since the last time you and I squared off."

"I feel the same." Bacchus' eyelid started to get heavy. "We should do this…again…sometime…" he fell to the ground with a smile on his face.

"You won, Cana!" Natsu exclaimed.

"I did?" when she noticed that Bacchus was unconscious her eyes widened. "I did! I won!"

"Congratulations." Stella clapped. The temperature in the bar started to return to normal. "You're the new champion."

"I knew you could do it." Natsu praised. "That was awesome."

"Thanks…but I couldn't have done it…without…" Cana fell over on the table, her eyes spirals.

"Was wondering when she would finally pass out." Stella commented.

"Cana!" Natsu shook her. "Cana, wake up!"

"Five more…minutes…"

* * *

Cana muttered in her sleep as Natsu carried her to the train station. The combination of alcohol in her body made sure that the fortuneteller could no longer walk on her own power, but Natsu was more than willing to carry her back after what she went through.

As a prize for winning the Liquor Lane challenge, Cana was given a plaque declaring her the champion, as well as a bottle of "Dragon's Breath." Since she was much too drunk to carry them herself, Natsu placed them on his bags.

"Natsu…? Where are we…? Did I win?" she slurred. It would be a while before she slept this off.

"Yeah you won." he smiled. "You should probably go back to sleep. We're almost at the train station."

"The train station? But you hate trains…"

"Yeah, but it's faster than walking home. Besides If you can handle all of that booze then I can handle a stupid train."

"Natsu…" Cana called.

"Yeah?"

"Natsu~."

"Yeah?" he was starting to get irritated. "What?"

"Natsu~!"

"Wha-" he turned his head and Cana's lips caught his. The kiss was quick, but Natsu could tell that Cana was putting her all into it. Natsu quickly faced forward, his face completely red.

"That's your present for helping me." Cana smiled. She rested her head on his back and drifted off to sleep once more. "You're the best D.D.S. a drunk could ever as for…thank you…"

Natsu grinned as the train station came into view. "You're welcome."

* * *

Natsu slept peacefully in his bed, snoring the rest of the night away as Cana laid at his side. From a crack in his door, Erza, Mirajane, and Juvia peaked inside. Their tempers flaring.

"Curse that sly drunkard." Erza fumed. "First she sneaks off to who knows where with Natsu, now here she is lying in his bed with him after we spent the whole night looking for the both of them. We were worried sick."

"I know she tried to make a move on my beloved while they were out together." Juvia glared at Cana. She was practically steaming at the thought of the fortuneteller doing something salacious with Natsu while they were alone.

"To be fair, weren't we all trying to spend time with Natsu in some form or fashion?" Lucy spoke up. The three girls' glares made her shrink back in fear. "I was just saying."

"We should just let them rest." Levy said.

Lisanna nodded. "We've all had a long day. We should all get some sleep."

"I'm going in there. I will not let Cana gain the upper hand."

"Wait, Juvia!" Erza hissed. "You can't just barge in there."

"Come back." Mirajane called.

Juvia opened the door and walked into Natsu's room, the other girls tentatively following behind. The rain woman stopped when she noticed something on the floor. "What is that?"

The others looked down, seeing seven bears sitting on boxes of chocolate. Six were arranged in what loosely appeared to be a heart while the seventh sat in the middle. They were all holding a rose.

"They look like teddy bears." Lucy said. She reached for one.

"They have our names on them too." Levy pointed out.

Each girl grabbed their corresponding bear and chocolates and brought them into the light of the den. Each of the bears matched their respective owner's hair color: Erza's bear was red, Lucy's was yellow, Mirajane and Lisanna both had white bears, and Juvia and Levy both had blue bears – though Levy's bear was a shade lighter than Juvia's. On the boxes of chocolates "Happy Valentine's Day" was written.

The girls were shocked.

"Did Natsu do this?" Erza asked.

"When did he have the time?" Mirajane wondered.

"Come to think of it he was more tired than normal today."

"Yes." Juvia nodded. "He was much groggier than usual."

"This must have been what he was doing." Lisanna realized.

"How long did it take him to get all of this done?" Lucy asked. "He must have searched everywhere for bears like these." She looked hers over. It was very well made. "They must have cost him a fortune."

"And we just dragged him around with no regard for his health." Erza slumped her head in shame, as did the other girls.

"He's always going out his way for us and we never thank him enough." Mirajane lamented.

Lucy, Levy, and Lisanna nodded.

"Wait, where's Juvia?" Lisanna asked.

Natsu's door was wide open again.

"Don't tell me." Erza said.

The girls ran back in to Natsu's room, watching as Juvia gently kissed him on the cheek.

"I'm sorry, beloved." She whispered. She then got into his bed opposite of Cana.

"Juvia, what are you doing?!" Erza yelped. Her face beet red.

"I am sleeping with Natsu to show my gratitude for his gift." she explained. "It is the least I can do for being careless."

"That's not-"

"I agree." Mirajane started to move forward.

"Mira?" Lisanna questioned.

"Mirajane, not you too." Erza sighed.

"Why not? I say Natsu's earned a good night's rest."

"Well yes, but-"

"Then I don't see a problem." Mirajane positioned herself between Natsu and the headrest. "Don't tell me you're scared, Erza."

"I am not afraid." Erza fell for the barmaid's taunt and moved to the bed. She managed to worm her way in between Natsu and Cana, and rested her head on his chest. When she looked across, her eyes met the glare of Juvia.

"This is my spot."

"Just bear with it for now." Erza said, her cheeks still red.

The other girls hesitantly followed their lead. Soon all of the girl's were lying in Natsu's bed. Slowly the dragon slayer began to smile.

"I think he's happy we're here." Mirajane giggled.

"Let's just got to sleep." Erza said quickly. "The sooner the sun rises, the quicker we can all leave."

"You could always leave now." Juvia pointed out.

"You be quiet."

"Good…night…everyone. Happy Valentine's...Day..." Natsu said, surprising the girls – save for Cana who was now hugged against Erza's back.

The girls all smiled warmly.

"Goodnight, Natsu." They said in unison.

* * *

**The end! How did you guys like the omake? I should have posted this earlier but there was a lot of things going on, not to mention how much of a pain it is to edit things just right. **

**As always leave a comment/review letting me know what you think. Thanks for reading and HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!**

**Next time it's back to out regularly scheduled story.**


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